Jackeo & Kiminet
by fingertips on my warm skin
Summary: Two households, both alike in dignity, in fair NYC, where we lay our scene, from 20 year grudge brings about more violence,where secrecy makes civil hands mischievous,from forth a party by one of these foes,a pair of star-cross'd lovers don't die...Retelling of Romeo & Juliet, but with less dying involved and a happy ending for all. :)
1. Jack Drowns His Sorrows

**Juliet Capulet: Kimberly Anne Crawford**  
**Romeo Montague: Jackson Michael Brewer**  
**Benvolio (Romeo's cousin): Jerry Fernando Martinez**  
**Mercutio (Romeo's friend): Milton David Krupnick**  
**Friar Laurence: Eddie**  
**Rosalind (Romeo's first girl): Julie **  
**Tybalt (Evil Dude): Ricky Weaver**  
**Paris (Juliet's Fiancée): Frank**  
**Lord Montague: Rudy Gillespie**  
**Lord Capulet; Sensei Ty**  
**Nurse: Marge**

* * *

Somehow, Jerry always knew where to find Jack; no matter what the circumstance, no matter what his best friend had gone through, and no matter what time of the night, Jerry always found him at Wasabi Wine.

Judging by the way Jack's back was hunched over the greenish-brown bottle of spirits, totally alone in the raucous bar, Jack had just suffered a serious mood change. He'd been dumped, to put it simply, and Jerry was doing what he always did-pasting his friend back together.

"Two shots of vodka," The Latino murmured to the bartender, sliding into a seat at the relatively crowded bar, and stopped himself from looking at the empty-eyed man beside him. Jack would talk to him when he was ready, but for now, he'd sit in silence. Accepting the small but sturdy glass of liquor, Jerry appraised his best friend out of the corner of his eye, using years of experience to find out the true level of depression he was experiencing.

Jack Brewer and Jerry Martinez have been friends since they came out of the womb. All through preschool, kindergarten, elementary, middle, and high, they'd been as close as brothers, and when you're close to someone like that, you tend to pick up a few things. Jack could tell from the tone of Jerry's voice what he was feeling, and Jerry knew the extent of Jack's suffering could be found out by the amount of alcohol he'd ingested.

This time was no different.

The brunette beside Jerry had a small collection of shot glasses on the smooth wood beside him, enough that a child could build a well constructed castle with. Tall and empty next to it were two wine bottles, not good grade but good enough for Jack Brewer, and the bottle in said man's hands was halfway empty.

Jack had it bad.

His dark, coffee hair wasn't in the perfectly coiffed mane that it seemed to uphold no matter what, the ends ragged and brushing his shoulders, strands hanging limply over his face. The shirt on Jack's back was an old ratty long-sleeved purple v-neck that his mother had threatened to throw out many times, probably from the amount of questionable stains on the hems. His jeans were even more worn than the shirt, though sporting no holes, and the shoes on his feet were Jack's famous, throwback Vans that had been splattered countless times on the cover of People, Us, and Variety magazine. Jack's eyes were shaded by his wayward hair, and he kept his gaze on the bar in front of him, the power shoulders he'd trained throughout all of his twenty-three years hunched with purpose as if to block out the world.

"Her name is Julie Tyson." Jack husked hoarsely, throwing back even more liquor. "She dumped me not two hours ago, and I feel like the damned."

Jerry chuckled, moving his shot glass around with a finger. "What did she say?"

Jack sighed. "I wasn't manly enough for her."

"Manly enough?" Jerry asked reflexively, laughing in disbelief as he gulped down the sharp, poignant amber liquid. "You've been taking karate and judo for as long as I can remember. You visit the gym almost as much as you visit the local Y. You're nice to a fault, kick butt, are a gentleman despite everything, and you've got the whole strong and silent type thing going for you."

Jack chuckled darkly, taking another swig. "That's not even the kicker, Jer. She left me for Milton. Milton of all people."

Jerry almost choked on his liquor. "Milton?"

Milton Krupnick was Jack's only other best friend, and that being said, the rejection was even more painful. The ginger had the brains that Jerry lacked, and the weakness that Jack seemed to be allergic to, but he had a good heart and was the best listener that they knew. For Julie to leave Jack for Milton, well…that was hard to stomach.

"Milton called me right afterwards," Jack muttered, placing the now empty wine bottle next to the two beside him and motioning for yet another one. "He had no idea Julie felt that way, so I can't feel mad at him, but…" he let out a low growl. "It still hurts like hell."

Jerry sipped his drink and looked at his best friend, evaluating the sober-yet-drunk brunette, a thought developing in his head.

"The Crawford's are hosting a party tonight, Jack." The Latino muttered, emptying the shot glass quickly. "It would help you get the break up off your mind."

Jack finally removed his eyes from the bar and looked at Jerry with disbelief, the apple cider color diluted and filled with years of pain that Jerry had the fortune not to experience. "The Crawford's?" Jack said with disbelief. "Jerry. I'm the drunk one. Not you."

Jerry smiled at his friend, gently taking the newest wine bottle from his hands. "You are a sober drunk, my friend." He countered mildly, pushing himself off the stool. "You're no different drunk than sober, just no hangover, but still-it's a ball thing. They can't kick you out."

"Jerry, you're practically my brother. You know the Crawford's and the Brewer's have been enemies after, well, you know…and you want me to crash their party?"

Jerry shrugged. "I'm a crazy Spaniard, yo."

The brunette shook his head to himself and released the grip on the corner of the wooden bar, getting up slowly and turning to face his inch-and-a-half shorter best friend. "Why not?" Jack muttered, following Jerry out the door. "Besides, I can't make the feud worse."

"Jackeroo, you have to meet some chicks," Jerry laughed, slinging an arm around Jack's shoulders as they exited the bar. "And I know just who to help me."


	2. Jerry Gets Caught

**Here's chapter 2!**

**Lil**

**Disclaimer: Nope. Not cool enough. NOT COOL ENOUGH.**

**(and btw, would someone PM me how this whole Disclaimer thing works?)**

* * *

For a collection of people getting ready to bust into a party in which they _definitely _hadn't been invited, they were definitely dressed for the occasion.

Jerry had forced Jack to put on some decent clothes. The brunette was wearing a black dress shirt rolled up to his elbows with his classy jeans, a fat white tie hung loosely around his neck. He'd refused to change the Vans on his feet, and his hair was still messed up, but compared to how Jerry had found him, he looked much better. Some of the less well informed female guests were giving him some appreciating looks, but Jack was distracted. Another member of their group was distracting him.

Julie was there. She and Milton had come last minute, but no matter what Milton tried, Julie and Jack refused to talk to each other. Julie kept her soft brown eyes trained anywhere else than where the Brewer heir was standing, and she clung to Milton's arm like a lifesaver. Jerry could see how Jack had fallen for her, because despite the pert glasses on her nose and her nerdy appearance for a twenty year old, she was a quiet kind of beautiful. Her ginger-brown straight hair was swept up in a French braided bun, and the simple blue and silver long sleeved dress she was wearing highlighted her creamy skin.

Milton was uncomfortably trying to pry Julie's hands from his arm out of respect for his best friend, but Jerry could tell that Milton did have some small feelings for the girl by his side. Milton's skinny frame was clad in a nice grey suit and a matching silver tie, his ginger hair spiked and styled, looking spiffy and intelligent, the same height but not as muscley as his brunette counterpart.

Jerry himself was decked out in his usual 'swag' glory. Somehow he's managed to persuade his distant tailor cousin to stitch up a pair of dress pants into _skinny _dress pants, matched with black and white plaid shirt, grey vest, and a black dress tie that he somehow managed to make it work.

Eddie, the only one of them that happened to NOT be related somehow, looked spiffy in a green satin suit. Eddie Jameson was Milton's friend from college; he had a degree in law, but typically only did small things while still working a good paycheck. He and his girlfriend Grace Wexler were the only ones actually invited to the party, and were waiting for them inside after Milton had texted them.

Jerry was positive that breaking into this party was going to be a piece of cake. I mean, come on; he'd done it before, knew the building almost as well as he knew his own house, and had even prepped for fake id's for Julie and Eddie, the youngest of the group at the age of nineteen.

"Here's the plan," Jerry turned to face them as they huddled around him, a little less than a block away from the huge building the Crawford's had rented, strobe lights casting strange shadow's on his face. "Jack is the only one here that they've been specifically warned about, so the rest of us are going to sneak in normally, but you my friend," he directed this at Jack. "Are going in the Jerry way."

The brunette's eyes widened warily at the tone Jerry used for those last three words, but he decided to trust the flighty yet grounded Latino.

After all, Jerry almost never steered him wrong.

Almost.

**Jack**

The first thing I did after Jerry sneaked me in was hit the extensive glass bar. Expected, yes, but there are some things a guy can't take, and having his recently dumped butt at the same party with the girl who did the dumping on his best friends arm was one of those things.

"Your hardest liquor," I told the bartender, and turned to face the crowd on the dance floor.

I may be supposed to hate them, but no one can deny that the Crawford's can't throw a great party. Hundreds of revelers amassed on the dance floor, surrounding tables, numerous bars & buffet, and milled inside of the small room holding the artwork that the party was supposed to be celebrating, 'supposed' being the key word here.

Jerry was right-I was a sober drunk. Drinking did nothing but dull the edges of the world for me, and as much as I wished that the alcohol would block out the world, something about the way I was made canceled out the effects of the liver. I was basically a human Captain America with my alcohol consumption, and my liver doctor can testify.

The fact that Julie Tyson had effectively dumped me for my best friend, who was kindly doing everything in his power _not_ to hurt me, still pained me like a double edged, blazing hot, stuck in deep knife. I was still hypothetically bleeding, but not enough for Julie to notice. Who was I kidding; she never understood me anyway.

Letting my eyes rove over the scores of dancing people, a flash of red caught the corner of my eye. Grabbing the champagne glass filled with what I suspected to be the toughest stuff they had, I pushed myself off the chair and searched once more for that flash of fire. It was so intriguing to me, I suppose, because the multitude of party attendants had been told to dress in neutral colors, excluding Eddie of course.

Besides, what the hell did Jerry expect me to do at this party anyway. I loved the guy like a brother, but for God's sake, I don't know why I let him keep dragging me to these things whenever something bad happens, a happenstance that I admit has slowly grown over the years. I suppose it's more to make him happy than me, because the only way I can recuperate is with as many bottles of beer I can scrounge up and a solid week in the solitude of my bedroom. I know that, he knows that, hell, even _Milton _knows that, but my break-dancing friend still hasn't given up on this party thing.

Gods, my life is repetitive.

Forcing my legs to move, I headed towards the giant glass staircase in the corner of the room, leading up to the huge balcony that I'd heard rumors of it ending up at. Most people in NY tended to stay away from it, by gossip that it was haunted and perpetually locked, but I'd seen that flame flash at the highest step and that was the only thing keeping me from more alcohol.

Jerry would be proud, right? Me away from the bar was definitely a good thing in his book.

As I climbed the set of stairs, I managed to finish off the first champagne glass, and out of a loss for a convenient place to drop it, set it down on the third to last step to the top. A servant would probably find it eventually, and I was too lazy to actually do something with it.

Opening the stone door at the top of the stairs, I gently pushed it and slid through the crack, pushing it softly closed after me, and turned to look for the redness that had drawn me up here in the first place. Considering the strobe lights flooding from the buildings windows and the yellow light glowing from the nearby abodes, the dress, as I've now labeled it to be, should have been hard to find.

It wasn't, or should I say, _she _wasn't.

A beautiful woman was leaning on the rim of the observatory, long golden hair hanging down her back in waves, the shining tumble done up simply in two side French braids that melted into the rest of the fallen hair. Her dress was not only red, but threaded with flashes of yellow, blue, and orange that called to the flame-like appearance I'd labeled when I first saw it. It was gorgeous, but a soft prettiness-an off-the-shoulders ensemble that's edges brushed the skin of her shins, not long enough to be a gown, but not short enough to be a mini. As she had heard me enter, her face was turned towards me, and I was taken aback by the look in her iced tea eyes. They were filled with the same tiredness and flicker of hope that I'd seen reflected in the mirror back at me so many times, but tinted with a vague suspicion, like she was wary of me, but not enough to actually care. Her lips were rounded, more so than Julie's, with a soft, shell-pink shimmer to them, and her face was a gentle kind of roundness that spoke to the kind heart I'm willing to bet she had. The make-up around her eyes was as shadowy as the sky around me, and put it simply, she was stunning. Beautiful. Striking. You name it, she was it-

Or maybe that was just the alcohol talking.

"Hey stranger," She gave me a sad smile, her voice the sort of rough associated with coffee ground but smoothened by the honey flavor that it possessed. "Enjoying the party?"

I shrugged, approaching cautiously to perch a little more than a foot away from her on the buildings edge. "The liquors good."

The blonde have a broken laugh. "I wouldn't know-I haven't had a chance to hit the bars yet."

I motioned to the remaining, half empty glass on the ledge beside me. "You want some?"

Not even hesitating, her delicate fingers reached around me to grab the glass stemmed goblet, tilting it to her lips and taking the whole thing down in a gulp. "Thanks." She said with a sigh, dropping the glass off the building, watching it crash on the first stone object it hit with a detached air. "I needed that. Are you a drinker?"

I gave a hoarse chuckle, drawn into the sullen companionship that we seemed to share. "You name it, I've had it."

"Beer?"

"More than I can count."

"Vodka?"

"One of my favorites."

"Sherry? Wine?"

"Not too often, and more often than I should."

"Brandy?"

"I don't hit on older women," I told her, giving her a half smile, and she cracked one in return, facing the sky.

"I'm Kim." She said finally, not looking at me.

"Jack." I returned, and glanced at Kim out of the corner of my eye.

Damn, she was beautiful.

"It's nearly midnight."

I acknowledged that with a glance to my watch. "Hey. I just met you, and this is crazy,"

Kim gave a laugh, and that gave me courage to finish. "But here's to luck, and, kiss me maybe?"

The blonde gave me a look. "You're drunk, aren't you."

I smiled at the stone ledge and looked up at her, meeting her now dancing brown eyes. "I've been drinking since five," I admitted, and she scooted a bit closer to me.

"Ha. Rookie. I've been drinking since nine," Kim said playfully, and I chuckled lowly at her.

"So I guess I've been turned down?"

She smirked. "Aw, no one's ever said no, Romeo?"

Julie's rejection flashed again to the forefront of my mind and I grimaced, wishing I'd just taken the bottle from the bartender instead of two glasses. "Actually, yeah. Pretty recently actually."

Kim touched my hand lightly, a sincere expression on her face. "I'm sorry."

I made my shoulders move in a half-hearted rendition of a shrug and turned me head, looking at her deeply. "Why are you here?"

Kim let loose a rush of air, glancing at the ledge and then resting her eyes again on my face. "Escaping my worthless excuse of a fiancée."

"Why are marrying him?"

"Because my parents want me to."

I winced. "Ooo. I'm sorry."

She sighed again, and pushed off of the ledge to reach down and pull off her heels, an action I sensed she'd been drying to do for a while. "Glad you understand."

The iPhone in my pocket dingled, and I gave her an apologetic grimace, taking it out of pocket and pressing it to my ear in a swift motion.

"What, Jerry?"

"They sort of caught Grace and I stealing the bathroom soap, so we need to go."

I groaned. "The one time I actually want to stay, man?"

"What? Were you getting laid?" The Latino's voice rose with excitement and I stopped myself from face palming so as not to confuse the beautiful girl in front of me.

"No , Jerry." I ground out. "I'll catch up. Get Milton and Julie and get the hell out of here, okay?" I hung up and gave the sky a half a second 'seriously?' look and returned my gaze to the sort of smiling Kim. "Do you know any faster way down from here that doesn't include going down that Godforsaken staircase?"

Kim grinned at me, and grabbed my hand, leading me to a black panel of metal in side of the ledge a few feet from where we were leaning. "I've used this elevator more times than I can count. Just don't freak out and hit anything and you'll be fine."

"Thanks Kim," I told her gratefully, and tugged on her arm, pulling her closer to me and pressing her lips to mine, determined not to leave without kissing her once.

She tasted like bourbon whiskey and Sweet Tarts, a combination that surprisingly was a whole lot better than it sounded. Kim gasped as she pulled away, but there was a full blown, _real _smile on her face as she shoved me in the old elevator.

"Casanova Jack never leaves a lady without a kiss," I winked at her, and she replied with a laugh that wasn't ladylike at all, but somehow infectious enough that I actually smiled back.

As the blackened elevator lowered quickly through the party building, half of me wondered what exactly had made me kiss her, and the other half freaked out because I actually pulled a rebound move on a girl that was cool enough to be my friend.

Once again, I wished I had a glass of whiskey, because _dammit_ she was so confusing.

Maybe the next time I saw her, I'd be able to apologize for my drunken actions, but something in me knew that Kim figured out I was a sober drunk.

That is, if I ever saw her again.

* * *

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**And eat these delectable (BIG WORD!) doughnuts.**

**Lil**


	3. Kim Plays Poker

**GAH! YOU GUYS WERE SO RESPONSIVE! :D**

**Here are your review responses...(sets about it humming and smiling to herself)**

**88Madison88-SO happy you liked my idea! It was risky, (what isn't?) but I'm so glad I was able to do something that you personally enjoyed. :D**

**nclhdrs1717-Ahaha Ikr? Jack isn't drunk in this chapter...boo, but he will be. A lot. He makes most of his confessions and does most of his fun stuff while drunk, and I mean come on? Who doesn't love a wry, inebriated Jackson Brewer? Especially when he's with Kim...I'm debating whether or not to let her make him _stop _drinking or allow him to keep doing it. It doesn't make him abusive AND it's not hurting him physically, so why the hell not? :D**

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**that lionhearted vagabond- Love the username, btw. No, I meant five as in five in the afternoon. That was a question with some of my other readers, so I'm happy that got cleared up. :3**

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**Here's the chapppppiiiieeeee!**

**Disclaimer: If I owned Kickin It they'd tell me if Jerry is dating Mika, why also seems to like Katie, and who the hell is Grace in this whole world?!**

* * *

One week later, at three o'clock in the morning, Jerry was ready to punch his best friend.

At the sound of the doorbell, the Latino had dragged his aching body out of bed, exhausted from a day of hard work at his dancing company, being the one day a year he stopped being CEO of a million dollar company and spent the hours teaching a class of teenagers how to freestyle. What Jerry couldn't wrap his poor, aching head around was why Jack was there at this hour. He knew it was Jerry's hardworking day, but he came anyway? Some friend.

Tiredly opening the door, the only Martinez son opened his ornate front door to focus his weary dark eyes on the figure that presented himself to him-a remarkably sober Jack Brewer.

His friend looked much better, but Jerry had expected that. It had been his 'beer-purge week', and he'd was good as new as usual. Every strand of his thick dark hair has perfectly coiffed, his natural curls tickling his collar, the sides gelled back to contrast with the rest of the ringlety mass. A blue, red, and white plaid dress shirt was hung on his powerful, slim frame, a black tie hanging undone on his neck. Dress jeans adorned his lower half, along with usual Vans. The fake wallet that Jack usually employed when going out bulged in his front jean pocket, with the slimmer, real counterpart peeking out of the brunette's hand, a sparkle of silver signifying the keys to his slick, Lamborghini knockoff that they had jointly dubbed Lambchop for its burgundy blood color.

"What the-"

"Hell?" Jack finished his friend hoarse statement, a lopsided grin on his face. "I want to go play poker, Jer. You up for it?"

The slam of Jerry's front door answered Jack's statement, so said brunette turned smartly around and headed back to his sports car, chuckling to himself, in a much better mood now that the alcohol had been cleaned out of his system as well as the girl.

"Milton said no, Jerry obviously said no, and now the only one left is Eddie." He gave the world in general a characteristic smirk, and the world in response gave a groan, heaving it skies up to a bit of a storm to hopefully dissuade the energetic young man. "Game on," he responded, and with a defeated air, the world watched his get back in his car to round up his lightweight friend.

It was going to be a crazy night

* * *

**Jack**

"Poker? Or the dance floor?"

I turned to face Eddie, my African American friend clothed in a spiffy black shirt and pants. The joint we usually went to was sort of high class, so nice clothes were required.

"You mean poker or girls?" I joked, and Eddie groaned, punching me lightly in the arm.

"We will never tell Grace this," he turned to me, black eyes earnest, body pulling him to the dance floor.

"My lips are sealed, brother," I promised, and her made a beeline in the opposite direction that I was heading, to our respective interests. I snapped a finger and a scantily clad server materialized at my elbow, eyeing the four buttons I'd undone at the top of my shirt and the rim of my Calvin Klein boxer with an appreciative glance that, I'm not gonna lie, sort of turned me off.

"What would you like?" she purred, and I searched the poker tables with my eyes, picking out my favorite one, the one right in the center of everything that garnered the best players to pitch against my skill. Years of pitching my anger at my parents constant betrayals and slights at the card table had been profitable in this kind of sport, and this place, The Philimora, usually asked me to participate in their highly publicized tournaments, or just if a patron decided to try their skills against me. The only person I've ever lost to is the world champion, so I've got considerable talents in this division. I also got some personal satisfaction from denying my parents the pleasure of exploiting my talents for their own gains, so this is one of my favorite hang outs. Phil, the owner, is one of my personal friends.

"A bottle of your best wine, and," I started to head to my destination, eyes focused on the group of people surrounding a player I couldn't catch sight of. "Tell Phil it's for Jackson Brewer."

* * *

**Kim**

"And that's how its done, boys." I smirked and leaned back from the table, wolf whistles and applause marking my most recent considerable win, eyeing my trumped opponent with a smug air.

Today had been one of the worst days of my life, probably. My parents had officially set a date for Frank and I's marriage, they'd freaked out when stupid cousin Ricky had revealed his 'suspicion' that a Brewer had been to their stupid party, and they'd made said cousin accompany me everywhere.

Well that didn't quite work out.

Ricky is now deeply lost inside the world known as 'Downtown New York', which is not a place he's ever been or wants to be. Hopelessly lost inside the world that I've made my second home, my friends from the wrong side of the tracks over there will keep him occupied until one, as they've promised, and I got to do what I've dying to-

Test out my poker skills.

I've been training online for the past three years in preparation for my 'Cinderella Night' if you will, and everything's going to plan.  
The ends of my blonde hair has been successfully dip dyed red, while it's finally reached the straight texture that I've been dying for it to have since about forever, the hair itself in a sloppy French chignon. My strapless little black dress, paired with lacy black leggings and flat boots of the same color, completes the badass look I've been dying to let loose for as long as I can remember, and every deck of hands dealt into my fingerless gloved hands has ended in triumph for me.

"Boom goes the dynamite, boom I said!" I yelled as an act of finality, and my opponent slunk away, soundly defeated.

"Excuse me, guys." A deep voice, husky with use, tinged with a world-weary tone that I could reckon with, broke through my winners haze, garnering my attention as my group of admirers parted, eyes wide for someone I recognized.

"Holy shit," I gasped, pushing back from the table so violently the chair fell over. "Jack?"

Aforementioned brunette's brown eyes lit up, and I finally got a glance at his outfit. Damn. He looks just as yummy in jeans and a dress shirt, the bastard. That mischevious glint in his eyes in still there, just not drowned in liquor as it had been that first night we'd met. His hair called for me to run my hands through it, and his lips were as kissable and eatable as ever.

Okay, someone had to have it out for me. Having the best night of my life, and then the sexiest guy I've ever met at a drunk laced party shows up? What the hell, guys? What have I done wrong?

"Kim!' He grinned, and those sparkling teeth did a number on my heart again. Muscling through the seemingly star-struck audience (what was with them anyway?) he gave me a big hug, which I, though surprised, returned.

Mmm. Ginger.

Ugh. Damn him.

"You play poker?" I poked at him, my own eyes glimmering up at him, my hands grasping for a handhold on his muscled shoulders to stop from drowning in those pools of woods, which sounds weird, but trust me it's possible. And painful, hypothetically.

"I should be asking you the same question!" he motioned to my wins, smirking a little. "Who'd you beat?"

"Sandusky, Ohian, Kendall, and Perkins," I recited proudly, and he gave me a one sided hug to match his one sided grin.

"Ah, those are the easy ones," he broke to me, and I gasped, turning indignantly to frown at some unlucky waiter so I could blame someone for the slight.

"Really?" I sighed and plopped back down the chair. "Damn."

"You want a real game?"

I popped right back up. "Hell yeah!"

"Then sit down, little lady. I'll give you a fight."

I narrowed my eyes. "You scared that they'll give me someone too hard so you volunteer yourself so my feelings don't get hurt?"

A pained squeak issued from one of our entourages mouths, the rest emitting gasps.

Jack gave a shrug and settled into the chair opposite to mine, a competitive look in his eyes that was as sexy as those stupid powerful shoulders.

"Maybe."

"You couldn't beat me if you tried," I shot back, insulted, and one of the people behind me actually gasped. I really don't know what the hell they've got up their ass, but they've got to stop interrupting.

"Sure, Kimmy."

LAST STRAW.

"If you beat me, you can finally get that kiss that you wanted." I jabbed. "A real one, not the one you stole from me last time."

Jack's eyebrow raised and someone tapped on my shoulder.

"Ma'am, you do who that man is, right?"

"Course I do," I returned hotly, and spun back to face Jack DAMN HIM, getting me so excited and flustered, and turned on! "So, what do you say?" I stuck out my hand and the brunette got up and shook up, chuckling deep in his throat.

"MA'AM."

"WHAT?" I hissed, and the person pointed a terrified finger at Jack.

"He's beat almost every person he's been put up against, miss. He's been in national tournaments, world recognized, and second place to only THE best. That's JACK BREWER MISS."

Holy Shit.

A Brewer?

He had to be a fucking BREWER?

"Jack…" I whispered to him, locking my eyes with his. "My full name is Kimberly Anne-" I winced. "Crawford."

Something in those amazing eyes hardened and he shrugged in a way I can only describe as viciously. "I don't discriminate, Kim. My parents are only related to me in blood, and their feud is not mine." He forced out a hard breath. "I may get my ass beaten after this in the tabloids, but Jerry was right." Who the hell is Jerry? "I am not a Brewer as much as I am Jack, so I'll still go against you Kim-if you'll have me."

I studied him for a minute.

"Game on, Brewer."


	4. Ricky Gets Beat Up

**First of all, I have to give a very, very large thank you to nclhdrs1717, ilovesports999, and 88Madison88 for their absolutely stupendous reviews. You really made me happy to be a fanfiction writer, and I swear it made the New Year that much happier. X)**

**You guys are my favorite 3 fans now. *showers love and doughnuts on you* Gods, you make this worth it. I whipped out this whole chapter just for you three. :3**

**Okay, before you read, I just want you to know that I'm feeling really nostalgic today. I was thinking about my childhood, and then I remembered old PBS and Cyberchase and Mister Rogers Neighborhood and 'just like kindergarten' and WWWAHHHH. WHAT HAPPENED TO THE WORLD? WE NEED FRED ROGERS!**

**Sorry about that little rants. *blushes***

**Reviews, reviews, reviews...**

**nclhdrs1717-I will take your advice. :D Jack drunk truly is pretty funny, and he has a little alcohol in his system after the poker duel, but not his true, drunk self yet. I look forward to writing that next chappie. I LOVE WHAT YOU SAID. 'comical genius, pure humorous gold!' That almost made my life. The gang is coming back next chappie to, because to be frank I want to know what a Jerry-after-drinking-spiked-punch would act life and whether or not Julie, Milton, and Jack will mend their little issue. :) Next time... ;)**

**ilovesports1999-YOU THINK I HAVE TALENT? Stop complimenting me! I was just trying to put my Kick feels into a comprehensive format...*blushes again***

**88Madison88-THANK YOU FOR KEEPING ME ON TRACK! I did Romeo & Juliet as a play in eighth grade, so I'm kind of unconsciously channeling it, but I totally forgot about that one particular relationship thing. I was just trying to justify a Crawford and a Brewer being friends in a real life way. Jack's pretty pissed at everything his parents stand for anyway, so I thought what the hell? It works, right?**

**Disclaimer: *deadpans* If I owned Kickin It, Rudy and Ms. Appelbaum would have more scenes together.**

* * *

"I gotta hand it to you, Kim,"

Said strawberry blonde simply blushed, staring down at the street as the cold air made her breathe puff white in front of her. The sky was as black as pitch, and here on the less populated side of New York, shadows spun and flickered on every surface and darkened doorway.

"You play a mean game of poker," I finished, grinning wryly, and said woman laughed, nudging me halfheartedly on the shoulder, sparks bursting between the places where we touched as always.

Kim's appearance had changed from that seat at the poker table a few hours ago. The time had worn on her new, badass persona, and she'd become a mix of the girl I'd met at the ball and the spunky woman I'd had the fortune to play against at Philimora. At my insistence, the first place we visited after what was to go down in history as the 'Brewer vs. Crawford' match to redefine all matches, was a clothing store, and she'd changed into a look at I'd now forever associate with her. Dark blue skinny jeans clothed her shapely hips, black boots slouching attractively on her delicate ankles. An oversized emerald shirt, with draping fabric hung from the slightly v-neck neckline hung on her shoulders and a glimmering gold locket, sparkled on her neck. Her lacy fingerless gloves had survived the 'costume change' and her red-tinged hair was swinging in its ponytail, side bangs slightly curled from the number the humidity was doing her hair.

To tell you the truth, I didn't really care what she wore. Kimberly Anne Crawford looked good in pretty much everything.

"Thanks."

Turning, I stared at my companion, her hazel eyes trained on the night before her.

"Being there, playing poker with you, without judgment or that stupid feud that our parents have going on…it was like I was a kid again." Kim smiled

softly. "You know, without the complications and all? When any problem you had with another kid could be solved by just saying 'I'm sorry', even if you didn't mean it."

I studied her face as we kicked rocks, debating whether or not to give her my jacket in the cold air, thinking about what she had said. "My favorite

show growing up, was Mister Roger's Neighborhood," I admitted, and Kim gave a small gasp of amusement,

"That was my favorite show too! Who did you like more, Henrietta Pussycat or Daniel?"

I gave a deep chuckle. "I had a soft spot for Trolley," I conceded, and she gave a delicious little giggle, leaning closer to me, our hands brushing gently. At the second hit, I reached out and softly laced my fingers with hers, and a light sprinkling of pink on her creamy cheeks.

"I had a good time with you, Kim." I told her, reaching out and brushing a strand of hair out of her face. "Even when we were trying to kill each other in poker. And by the way, I'm sorry for beating you."

Kim gave me an earnest look. "It was fun, Jack. Honestly. And I don't really mind you beating me, it was all in good sport right?"

"Yeah," I agree. "When do you have to get home?"

Kim laughed, flicking her phone out her pocket. "I should've been home at one, so I'm about an hour late."

"You don't have a curfew right?"

"I'm twenty-two, Jack, not seventeen." She said it with a smile on her face, and something surged in me at that smile. The strains of a lone Italian singing floated on the midnight air, and the uncommon sound of a mandolin player, accompanied by a viola, cello, and flute intertwined with the beautiful sound, the song itself somehow making her look even more stunning than Kim already is.

Yes, I had just met her, and yes, I barely knew her from Eve, but dammit something about her just really spoke to me. I wanted to see her again. Not just accidentally, but on a date, or something. Kimberly Anne Crawford was a very striking woman, and I really wanted her to be a part of my life.

Screw family, screw reputation, and screw that damned feud. I could care less.

Another, harsher tune than the mandolin broke through the night air and the one and only Justin Bieber started singing from Kim's pocket, something stupid about being someone's boyfriend, I think. That guy has so many chicks it's unbelievable. Leave a little left for the average guy, okay Biebs? Not cool, man. Not cool.

Kim let out a sigh, fishing the Blackberry out of her pocket.

"Hi Ricky." Her voice wasn't the usual honey tone that I had grown used to, a sour tinge entering it as she talked to this 'Ricky' person. I REALLY hope it wasn't her boyfriend, because I'll sure as hell fight for her.

"No Ricky, I haven't been raped. I'm not high either! Oh my gosh, Ricky, why the hell would I be hanging out with a Brewer?" Kim's gorgeous eyes flicked up to mine and her hand held mine a little tighter as I gently turned us around to head back to the bus station I'd spotted about ten minutes ago. As much as Kim claimed she didn't have a bedtime, I could feel her getting tired. I personally needed an alcohol fix, and there were only houses in this part of Brooklyn.

"You're a little bit bruised Ricky?" The strawberry blonde stifled a laugh. "You met some thugs in downtown?" her eyes sparkles as they met mine and I had to give another chuckle. Something told me that she'd probably planned to have that Ricky dude detained. "Mhm. You're home? Oh goody, I'm heading there myself."

Kim rolled her eyes as we got onto the empty bus, the stoic driver barely glancing at me while I dropped a fifty in his lap. I could really care less how much I paid people at this point-my parents make enough anyway.

"Yes, Ricky, I'll be heading there alone. Goodbye, Ricky." Kim gave a sigh as she flopped down in the hard, lightly padded seat, the bus shuddering as it continued its journey, heading towards Times Square. "Ricky's my cousin. He's rather protective of me and all, and was supposed to be watching me today." She chuckled, glancing down at our hands. "I asked my friends downtown to take care of him for a while, and they did the job, as always."

"Do you know Joan?"

Her eyes glittered as Kim looked at me, mouth open a bit. "Yeah! She's one of my good friends down there! How do you know her?"

I shrugged. "I was a bit rowdy in my younger days. She busted me out a few times, and now Joan and I are a bit like really good acquaintances. I actually met the owner of my favorite bar through her too."

"Where do you drink?"

"Anywhere I can find, but the Wasabi Wine's always been my favorite. Jerry can usually find there when I'm…" my face darkened a bit. "going through something, shall we say."

"Do you always turn to alcohol?" Kim's question was pretty innocent, but it did get me thinking.

Why do I drink?

"I don't know why I do, but it's like…I can't explain it. Sort of like a silent friend that lets me drown my problems in it. It doesn't judge, doesn't ask questions, and makes the world hazy around the edges so I don't have to think about said problems." I sighed. "It's always there, and I'm a sober drunk so I don't have to worry about the whole 'drunk' thing. I've fought some of my best bouts while drunk, and hey," I grinned lopsidedly at the blonde. "It led me to you, didn't it?"

Kim grinned at me and settled back in her seat. "I suppose. I just don't want you to drink yourself to death."

I chuckled, playing with her soft fingers. "I was born with a really weird kidney. It's on super-charge all the time and all the alcohol immediately gets flushed out of my system. The effects are dulled, but intensify with more spirits I drink." I gave a shrug. "It's usually how Jerry judges my emotional destruction meter."

"Who is Jerry?"

I got a faraway look in my eyes when thinking about my best friend, and the closer we got to our respective homes near Times Square the more I started to tell Kim about my friends.

"So, its Jerry, Milton, Eddie, Grace, and Julie?" Kim's last assumption made me wince as I helped her out of the bus and I looked longingly at the sky for an easy way to tell her about my most recent…ex.

"Julie sort of broke up with me for Milton," I blurted out and Kim glared at me in shock.

"Your girlfriend left you for your best friend?"

I ran a hand through my hair sheepishly. "I'm okay with it. It's not her fault, or Milton's. I just wasn't the one for her, I guess."

Kim's shoulder bumped mine as we headed through the crowded streets of Times Square, and soon enough we were close to what I knew to be Crawford Inc., the building large and imposing, lights still on despite it being around six in the morning, looking dark and decidedly less cheery that the bright, animated billboards in the hub of New Yorkian business and trade.

"I guess this is my stop," she whispered, us hiding in the nearby bar that we found less than a block from her families company.

"You live there?" I whispered back, unbelieving, and Kim gave a half a laugh, glancing up at the building with a doleful look on her face.

"Sort of kind of," Kim admitted, and slowly untangled her hand from mine. "You can't come any closer or lead me up to the door, okay? I don't want Ricky to scalp you, or have my parents press charges for something they'll make up, or get you in trouble with your own 'rents."

I groaned out in disappointment and gave Kim the puppy dog eyes that had always worked with any female I met. "Do you have to go, now?" I whined, and Kim giggled, slapping me on the shoulder.

"Goodbye, my Jackass," Kim said softly, and pressed her lips to mine is what clearly escalated from a simple goodnight kiss.

Tasting the fireworks that this blonde girl inspired in me, I moaned a little bit and cradled her face in my hands, moving as close as I could without wrapping my arms around her waist. Kim responded enthusiastically, and within seconds we were playing a battle of tongues, her skin hot to the touch and her body doing things to me that I wouldn't admit in polite accompany…unless I was whispering such dirty things in said woman's ears. I would greatly enjoy making her blush, I think.

Gasping for oxygen, Kim leaned back from me and rested her forehead against mine. Trying to regulate her breathing back to normal, I took the opportunity to rest my hands on her hips, attempting to do something physically impossible and meld her body into mine.

"Le'ggo, Jackson," Kim gaspingly demanded, and despite the feelings in my groin I regretfully let her go. Smirking at her control over my reactions, the blonde swung her hips as she walked out the door, twiddling her fingers in a flirty farewell.

Groaning, I dropped into the first barstool I found, rubbing my forehead with a hand.

"I need a whiskey," I told the bar server hoarsely. "A straight whiskey. On the rocks." My mind returned to the woman who'd just totally cockblocked me and I remedied my request. "Fuck it. Just give me the bottle."


	5. Sunny Licks Jack

**Okay, okay, okay. I'M SORRY THE GANG ISN'T IN THIS ONE. Kim and Jack sort of took up brain space, and before I knew it it had over 15 hundred words and they weren't there! At all! Sure, they were _mentioned_, but gah. Rips my heart up. I miss Milton and Jerry.. :( And Grace & Eddie will be so fun to write about! I'm such a couples sap. XP I think I'm gonna introduce Mika as one of Kim's friends in a later chapter...what do you guys think? **

**Oh, and on a completely different subject, the whole Celldweller thing is TOTALLY random. There's this one song that I got from them because it was powerful and moving and all encompassing..which is why I watched the promo for 'We'll Always Have Bourbon Street' about a million times. Any TVD fans out there? :P**

**YOU GUYS SHOWER TOO MUCH LOVE, I TELL YOU. TOO MUCH LOVE. T_T *cries with happiness* Special shout out to NaturallyWritten, who put me on a community that you guys should check out. ;) I literally started crying when I saw 'sparkling grammar'. Gods, so many compliments...**

**Reviews! :)**

**Guitarplaya890: 'So amazing!'? Geez, you people don't spare the compliments. X) 1st reviewer!**

**nclhdrs1717: He has Kim now, and liquor is spelled l-i-q-u-o-r. Just remember that its like 'liquid', but the i and d are an o and r. Like lick-or. :) WEREN'T THEY AMAZING? PBS KIDS IS SO RUINED NOW! SPROUT, STOP RUINING OUR CHILDREN! THEY MISTER ROGERS AND WIDGIT! Gilbert Godfreid may you live forever. I answered the Blackberry question in this chappie just for you. :D And its said that I shot down the Biebs, cuz I'm a huge Jelena fan. :( Oh, well. I was talking from a guys perspective. Sue me.**

**ilovesports999: So happy that it makes you keep coming back for more! I love my fanfiction family with all my heart, and even though its been barely more than a month since I joined you all are already so dear to me. I look forward to each and every review, truly I do. :)**

**alwaysme98: I have a GIFT? *dies of wonder & joy***

**NaturallWritten: GAH. Let me just say, GAH. ;) Do you remember Bear in the Big Blue House?**

**Rose2091: I think your missing a word, hun. :)**

**88Madison88: Thankies. ;)**

**And without further ado!**

**Disclaimer: No. Just No.**

* * *

_"I am still here waiting…I'm anticipating…while they are orchestrating…to grant the wish that I am making…no price to great, no distance too far, if I could wish upon a black star, it makes no difference where they are, they'll grant my wish upon a black star…"_

Yes, Kim had Celldweller on her Blackberry.

Celldweller is a weird band, with mixing elements of dubstep, rock-n-roll, electric guitar, and techno, not something that a girly girl would have on her iPod. But here's the difference-Kim's not a girly girl. She's more like a mix between the two, so the radical new, weird sound of the Detroit based band spoke to her sometimes.

That may be why it was Jack's ringtone.

Grabbing her phone and bringing it to her ear in one fluid motion, Kim resumed packing the large cardboard box while responding to the caller. "Hey Jackass," she grinned into the phone at the resounding chuckle that answered her.

_"Just out of curiosity, whats my ringtone? And why don't you have a iPhone?"_

"Your ringtone is _It Makes No Difference Who We Are_, by Celldweller, and I have a Blackberry because I'm not your standard rich heiress. I like to break out of the mold sometimes."

_"I see. Is that what your show at the Philimora was?"_

Kim could hear the smile in his voice and her face responded in kind as she surveyed the now-empty room that she shared with Jessa, her older sister. "Yeah, yeah, yeah. Hold on for a sec?"

_"Sure."_

Jamming the phone in the back pocket of her jeans, Kim went through a mental checklist of the last things she had to take to her new condo. The blonde was clad in the same skinny jeans she'd worn with Jack a few days ago, on their first, unofficial 'date'. Her top was an oversized white sweater designed like a t-shirt over a black cami. The drawstring white cord on her waist matched the one wound in her messy up do and straggly curls drifted over her left eye. Not particularly aiming for fashionista, Kim managed to make the simple outfit look good, even with the black flats thatcompleted the outfit slid off right at the door.

"Marge!" she called into the empty rooms, placing the Blackberry back on her ear. "Can you bring the last boxes to the elevator? My parents won't be home for another half hour and I have to go pick up the babies!"

_"Uh…you have kids?"_

"Oh, shit!" Kim cursed. "No, those are my dogs. I just call them my babies."

"Will do, Ms. Kim!" The African American nanny yelled back, and shoes back on, grey canvas bag tucked over one shoulder, the girl that grabbed Jack Brewer's heart so fast ran out of the room, taking the steps instead of the elevator for exercise.

"Do you wanna meet me at home or at the doggie hotel?" Kim asked Jack, moving quickly through the crowded streets with all the tact of a born n' bred New Yorkian.

_"I thought I couldn't go to your house, remember? Something about my balls being cut off or something just as disturbing."_

Kim cracked a grin at that. "I just moved out today, but you don't have my address yet do you?"

_"No, so doggie hotel I guess it is. Which one?"_

"Canine Kingdom."

_"Got it. See you in a few,"_

Even though Jack had hung up, Kim was still smiling, biting her lip in a way that Jack found incredibly adorable, not that she knew. As much as she'd deny it, she'd missed the alcoholic, witty, poker player more than she'd admit.

* * *

**Jack**

"I'm here to meet Kim Crawford?"

I leaned on the counter with all the practiced ease of someone who did this everyday…or someone who had already gotten their fix. Yep, already had a few beers in my system-not enough to make the world hazy, but enough to feel a little wry and a wee bit, well, um…

Desiring of feminine company?

I suppose that's the polite way of saying it.

The receptionist smiled at me, a little flirty (which made no sense cuz I'd just thrown on a Guns n' Roses t-shirt, jeans, a white washed black hoodie and Vans) and waved me through the partition.

I heard her before I saw her, her honey voice reaching around the door before she did. "Sarge! Control yourself! We're gonna have company soon! Joey, I've told you a million times, keep your head ducked when I'm picking up Sarge and Sunny's leashes. Sunny, please, for heaven's sake stay still-Sunny! SUNNY!"

A barking, tongue wagging, grey, black, and cinnamon bundle of energy practically flew around the corner at me, jumping on me and licking my face with the kind of enthusiasm that only a dog could have. The breed looked to be an Australian Sheperd-Black Labrador mix, with shining light blue eyes and an uncontrollable tongue.

"Whoa, girl!" I laughed, correctly identifying the gender of the dog. "Yeah, nice to meet you to!"

"Aw, hell," Kim muttered, and I sensed her clipping a yellow leash to the dogs burgundy color, her claws clicking as they found something to climb on that wasn't me. Kim had one dog in her canvas bag and two on leashes, yellow and camo respectively. She wore no makeup, just a little bit of lip gloss, and she looked frustrated and happy at the same time.

Still chuckling, I gently pushed the large dog off me and stood up, sauntering up to my beautiful lady and nuzzling her nose, ignoring the employee's, dogs, and various customers around me.

"Hey, gorgeous," I murmured to her, and Kim smiled against me, hands grasping my upper arms as my eager hands gently grabbed her waist. "Missed me?"

"Mmm. A little bit." Her nose tweaked as she said it, and I leaned forward, pressing my lips against hers softly, with all the delicacy of fine china. Her lush mouth was a little too tempting, damn her, but I tried my best to keep it sweet and tender, and we grinned into it after a minute, kissing once more before pulling back.

_"Awwwwwww._" Surprised, Kim and I looked up, and the blonde started blushing at all the sighs and looks we were getting. About 99.9% of all the females in the vicinity were lovelorn staring at the two of us, and while I'm happy that they got a little something out of that magical kiss, my love life was my own.

Smirking, Kim tapped the Ray Bans I wore. "I think its time for us to go," she whispered, and despite her protestations I took the cameo leash from her and tangled our fingers together, walking with her out the door.

Sarge turned out to be a serene, stately Golden Retriever with a love for New York hot dogs and a secret weakness for bubbles, and Joey was a perky Beagle that barked at anything that moved. Sunny was a happy-go-lucky dog that had an affinity for the opposite sex, and their owner was just about the sexiest thing I've ever seen move.

"You got anything going on today?" I inquired to her, biting into the hot dog that I was sharing with Sarge. Don't worry, I wasn't going to eat the half that he touched. He could have the rest, I just wanted a bite…and besides, it was one of those super good, brot hot dogs. You cannot not share a bratwurst hotdog. That's like sacri-meat-ligious or something.

Sighing, Kim nodded her head. "An art exhibit at ten for the family, yay, taking one for the team! And my friend Grace is coming over in about half an hour to visit."

"What, no housewarming party?"

She gave me a look, sipping the top of her ice latte. "I don't have time for a housewarming party."

"Aw…"

"Maybe we can have one in a week?" Kim offered, and I grinned down at her.

"I'm sure that Grace, Milton, and Julie can whip something up."

Thinking about my ex, a slight glower came onto my face and Kim grumbled at me. "I'm sorry, what'd you say, Kim?"

"You should get over this spat with Milton and Julie," she complained, adjusting her hold on Sunny's leash as Joey snored in the bag, totally tuckered out. "Milton's not going anywhere so call him and do something about it!"

"Maybe later," I assured her, and huffing, Kim let it go. I'm sure she was bug me about it later, but I was here with her, not Milton and Julie. They could wait. "So, is the art exhibit expensive?"

Kim nodded. "Yeah. I'm gonna have to go dress shopping sometime in between Grace's visit and the exhibit. Gods, I wish I had more time."

"I'm an okay dress finder," I offered, and she turned to me, ice tea eyes narrowed disbelievingly.

"Your joking."

"No! I promise! Call Grace, she can vouch for me!"

"Mhm," she said doubtfully. I gave her a winning smile.

"Plllleeeeeaaaassseee?"

"Ugh. Fine."

"Yay!"

"Grow up."

"You know you love me."

She wrinkled her nose and me and stuck her tongue out. "Maybe."


	6. Eddie Kills Happily Ever After

**DON'T kill me. Please? :(**

**Disclaimer: If I owned Kickin' It, all of the lovely Kickin' it fans would kill me if I did this to Jack in real life. So no, I do not own Kickin' It.**

* * *

_Stay the hell away from my cousin, Brewer._

_You don't deserve her._

* * *

"Holy _shit_, Jackeroo. What the_ hell_ did you do yourself?"

When Jerry and Milton had opened up the door to Milton's condo, they had not expected to see a barely conscious Jack being supported by a very worried Eddie. It wasn't an especially bad day, as far as Milton knew. The anniversary of…the incident wasn't for a month yet, and since that one time before Julie broke up with him, he hadn't gotten into a fight, but this, THIS was disastrous.

Milton's best friend was so beat up it was hard not to look at him and wince. The tough, handsome brunette had a black eye and a hairline cut, bleeding a bit under his overhanging brown hair, but that wasn't the worst of it. The back of his shirt was laced with wide cuts, and Milton could swear that there might be a bullet hole somewhere in his friends abdomen, leaking blood like a cup full of holes. Bruises covered the exposed skin of Jack's back, and the only thing of Milton could think of is that Jack needed to go to the hospital. _NOW._

After Jerry's exclamation, they carried their half conscience friend to Milton's large bathroom, no one caring when the blood started to seep into the cream tiles. Propping the brunette up on the lip of the tub, Eddie ripped off their best friends shirt to check the damage, Jerry busy saturating rags in warm water while Milton went to go get his gloves in order to try to not to make it any worse.

Jerry had seen Jack lying in a doorstep, so drunk he couldn't see with a tattoo he couldn't explain in the middle of winter. Milton had seen Jack stumble in the front door of their dorm with a broken shoulder blade and an unexpected haircut, with another tattoo he couldn't explain. Eddie had seen him high on drugs that Jack had always refused to take, shaking and beat up so bad he couldn't see, and this was worse than all three combined. Jack had truly fucked himself up this time, and his mates refused to see him like this again. After all this was over, they were going to have a talk with him, and he would listen.

Hopefully.

* * *

"So how did this happen again? And don't give me that 'it was an accident' bullshit, okay?"

Distracting Jack while Milton tried to gently dig out what had been confirmed to be a bullet was a monumental task, but Jerry had resigned himself to do it. The brunette had refused to go to the hospital, insisting that Milton was a doctor anyway, so why did he have to? It didn't make any sense, to him at least. Jack was lying on the bed in Milton's guest room, shirtless and still talking despite what must have been excruciating pain.

"They came from nowhere, Jerry. I really can't tell you."

"Where were you?"

"Downtown."

"How long ago?"

"About an hour or so. Eddie was the first one to answer to answer his phone, and," turning slightly, Jack coughed, accidentally wetting Milton's nice pillows with blood from his mouth. Jack grinned, wincing apologetically at their concentrating ginger headed friend. "Sorry, man."

"Just stay still." Milton responded shortly, so the male in question turned back to Jerry.

"The beating was sort of expected, I suppose." Jack sighed. "Some stoners thought I was their drug supplier, and got bad when they found out that I wasn't. Black eye and arm bruises are their fault."

"What about those knife marks on the back?" Jerry inquired, sitting in a chair he'd pulled up earlier. Jack let out a brief expletive at Milton's work, and Jerry's ears actually started to ring a little. He was spending too much time with Joan, Jerry concluded, and returned to the prone figure on the bed.

"Those are old, Jerry. You just haven't seen them in a while. Eddie can vouch for me, he found me when I got those scars."

"The bullet hole?"

Jack's face closed up. "That's a long ugly story I'd rather not dig up right now. But hey," he cracked a smile, eyes wincing at Milton finished his job with the bullet, dropping it into a mug Eddie brought for the purpose. "At least I don't have any tattoos, right?"

"No more than you already have," Milton grumbled, standing up and snapping his gloves off with practice. "Jack, no more going downtown without Joan, or one of us, okay? You made far too many enemies there in your reckless days. Too many to be going there alone, you hear me? We don't want to find you dead the next time."

"Deal, Milty," Jack said wryly. "Can I sit up now?"

"No!" Milton said with astonishment, worry lines becoming more pronounced at Jack's question. "No, dummy. You're gonna stay right there, for at least a week. You definitely can't go home, and this way we can take turns watching you. Stop being an ass and let us take care of you for once, you're not Batman, you retard."

Jerry let a soft smile grace his face at Milton's angry words, because lets face it-Milton doesn't curse as often. The ginger has always been the proper gentleman, in speech as well as in action, so in calling Jack an 'ass', he'd shown just how much he was worried. How much they were all worried.

"I'm going to have to call you Jackass from now," Jerry joked, nudging him softly.

"Nope, already taken, bro," Jack groaned, adjusting himself with Milton's help so he was lying on his stomach instead, so the resident doctor could sponge off the bruises and scars. "Eddie?"

Startled, the African American man stopped leaning against the door, halted from staring at the brunette wearily. "What?"

"Can you call Kim for me? Please?"

"_Kim_?" Eddie's face went absolutely slack jawed. Jerry idly wondered why, but he had started to help Milton with the cleaning of the mess that was Jack's back. "_Kim_ as in _Kim_ Kim? Like, _Kimberly_-"

"Yes, Eddie, that Kim." Jack murmured, starting to pass out. The pressure that Jerry and Milton were applying to his back was a bit more painful than the Brewer heir would admit, so his body told him that the best thing to do was go unconscious. "But just make sure the bruises have faded, when you do. I don't want her seeing me like this…" and with that, Jack hit the sack.

"Who's Kim?" Milton asked Eddie absentmindedly. "She's got to be some kind of important if Jack wants her here. You know his whole 'getting beat up or hurt in any way policy'." Jack refused to let himself be seen as weak, so he only let his best mates help him when he got into these situations. If he actually wanted someone else there, then they were probably very important to him.

The odd thing was that Eddie was the only one who knew who the mystery Kim girl was.

Or maybe not.

"Kim as in _Kimberly Crawford_?" Jerry squeaked, sitting down hard, stopping the sponging off of Jack's back for a second. "Oh no. This is is very, very bad."

"I don't see the problem."

Both Eddie and Jerry's head swiveled towards Milton with all the confusion of miscalibrated robots.

"Kim's a Crawford, Milton," Eddie said slowly. "Jack is a Brewer. This cannot end well."

"Has the media found out yet?" Milton challenged, and both the Spaniard and the lawyer shook their heads unwillingly.

"That doesn't change the fact that once they do, Jack's life will be ruined. Kim's as well, but that's not the main problem. Jack's parents will kill him." Jerry insisted, and Milton sighed, swirling the rag around in the pot of water to dissolve the blood into the already reddening water.

"Jack needs someone, guys. You know that. Look what happened with Donna-he's never been the same. You know that too. Are we really gonna take away what could be his last chance at a happily ever after."

"Happily ever after doesn't exist," Eddie grumbled, but the ginger ignored him.

"Give Jack a week, so the bruises will wear off a little bit. Then call her." Milton sat back on his heels and surveyed the damage with a pained eye. "God. Jack really did it this time."

* * *

**Kim **

_Kim: Hey. :) [Feb. 16th]_

_Kim: Jack? [Feb 16th]_

_Kim: Jack, you okay? [Feb 16th]_

_Kim: Okay…get back to me when you can. :([Feb 16th]_

_Kim: Jackson Brewer. X( [Feb. 17th]_

_Kim: Come on, Jack. You usually respond instantly. You haven't texted me for a few days. Whats up? [Feb. 17th]_

_[THIRTY MESSAGES. NO MORE ROOM. NEXT MESSAGE WILL FAIL] [Feb. 18th]_

_Kim: Jack, WTF? I miss you, okay! Where are you? I'm really worried. [Feb. 19th]_

Frowning, Kim slid her phone back into her pocket, propping her head up on her hands, running through the now plain-blonde curly locks, pushing Jack's raybans further up her head and staring out the window of her apartment unseeingly. Kim was worried. She was unbelievably worried, and stressed, and going crazy just because Jack hadn't texted her back or called her in three days.

Okay, maybe the thirty plus messages were overkill, but Kim had a reason to be unsettled. Their relationship was very risky, so any number of things could've happened. Ricky could've found out. His parents could've found out. Her parents could've found out. He could be drunk somewhere in a bar, trying to cope with an issue and she wasn't there for him. It'd been about a month since art auction and the housewarming party hadn't happened. They'd simply had a nice time hanging out, learning more about each other, Kim trying to limit Jack's alcohol consumption and eventually giving up, Jack trying to put his own touch on her bedroom and succeeding by christening it in the only way males knew how and decorating her house with little things he brought every time he came to visit her. They had something a little more than boyfriend and girlfriend, and it was special to both of them-or so Kim had thought.

Hopelessly searching her empty bedroom for the boxered, sexily hair mussed, husky sleeping brunette whose body Kim knew almost more than her own, her tea eyes lit upon the objects he'd brought for her, assembled on her dresser so she could properly remember what he'd done with her with each present.

A rose gold necklace, with a small heart made out of faceted opal, shimmering in the moonlight; he'd draped it around her neck on sight, kissing her neck as he did so and teasing her mercilessly.

An imaginatively creative roughly soccer ball sized replica of yin and yang; he'd hid it in the house and begged her to look for it, and once she'd found it, he held her waist and refused to let her get to it until she managed to kiss him, which was hard because his chest was to her back and he wouldn't let her turn around.

Three pairs of multicolored, crocheted fingerless gloves with large holes for the warming weather; he'd taken her to the library and hid from her, making her find him (she'd discovered that he had a thing for people finding him or things, which was weird, but also funny) and taunted her by leaving notes in random books that he left on the floor, although she had to admit that the make out session she'd enjoyed afterwards made up for the hour of torture.

Jack was crazy, yes, but he was her crazy. And she didn't want him any other way.

"I am still here waiting…I'm anticipating…while they are orchestrating…to grant the wish that I am making-"  
Snatching up her phone, Kim flooded it with relieved, angry words. "Jack! Don't you ever do that to me again, do you know how worried I was, I swear I almost talked to your parents to ask about you, Sunny misses you, we found out Joey had canine tonsillitis-"

_"Kim."_

Her breathe caught in her throat. "Eddie? Why do you have Jack's phone?"

_"Jack hasn't been answering his phone because he's been in an out of consciousness. He said to say hi."_

Ignoring Eddie's obvious, frustrated sarcasm, Kim was on her feet already, purse on shouder, dragging on a jacket and running down the steps to the ground floor in a frenzy. "Where are you, Eddie."

_"He doesn't look good, Kim. I'm just warning you."_

"And I'm just warning you that I don't care. Where. Are. _You_."

_"Milton's place. Corner of Bourbon and 2nd Avenue."_

"I'll be there."

_"Kim-"_

"Goodbye Eddie."

Heart pounding, Kim rushed like a madwoman to Milton's house, her mind traitorously conjuring images of the things that could have happened to Jack.

If he got himself killed, she was gonna kick his ass.

* * *

_"Where is he?!"_

Kim slammed the door open with all the grace of an enraged elephant. Jerry, sitting at Milton's kitchen countertop, leaned backwards to evaluate her.

"'Sup, girl." The Spaniard greeted, grinning, but Kim ignored him.

"Where is Jack?" she demanded. "I need to see him. _NOW_."

"Guest room, second door on the right," Jerry said with amusement as the blonde whipped past him. He wasn't used to being ignored by girls when Jack wasn't around, but he was okay with it. There were more girls in the world, right? Right.

"Oh gods," Kim dropped to her knees next to the bed, eyes filling up at the sight of her boyfriend. The bruises that had been so distinct a few days ago now only sported dark brown and black, instead of purples, blues, and variating shades of burgundy. "Jack," she said gently, fingers trembling as she pushed back the fringe of his thick, shoulder length coffee locks.

Milton, understanding that he wasn't needed, exited the room quietly.

They needed their space.

Groaning, Jack cracked an eye open, shifting slightly, moving his head to face the blonde girl with moisture in her eyes, trying not to cry and brushing the sides of his face. "Hey, beautiful," he smiled gently at her. "Sorry about this."

"What happened, Jack?" she whispered. "I was going out of mind with worry, and now you just go and prove me right-" she gave him a trembling smile. "I'm gonna have to stay with you all the time to keep you out of trouble, Jackass."

"I can deal with that," Jack responded, and Kim gave a nod, choking down a sob. "Dammit, don't cry, beautiful," Jack swore, somewhat desperate. "I can't hold you in my arms, so please don't cry."

Kim sniffled. "Okay." The tips of her fingers ghosted over his back, tracing the outline of the various tattoos there. "What are all of these?"

Jack winced. "Scars? Bruises?"

Kim took a deep breath. "No. Tattoos."

Jack let out a breath and adjusted his body as Kim crawled over him, settling at his side when he turned his head to face her. "You look pretty," he admitted, and Kim blushed. The raybans were somewhere on the floor of her apartment, but the rest of her outfit had survived her mad dash. A large guns n' roses t-shirt (his) was draped on her shapely form, with a pair of skinnies (the ones he bought her) and fuzzy socks, boots resting against the side of the bed. Wincing, Jack reached out a hand and tweaked her edge of her shirt. "I like you wearing my clothes." She smiled at him, and Jack finally couldn't take it. His arm slung itself around her waist and tugged her closer, even though he let out a sharp curse every inch he gained. To help him, Kim just scooted into his side, and he relaxed for the first time in days, cradling her figure in his muscled arm. "The tiny pair of wings at the top of my spine is for my dead twin sister, Lea," he recounted, eyes resting softly on Kim's own searching ones. "The word ever in the inside of my wrist was a best brother thing Jerry and I did after graduating high school, the slogan down my side is for the Wasabi Wine after a bad incident, and I've never been able to recall what the star under the wings are for."

"We swear by the light of the dragons eye, to be loyal and honest and never say die," Kim recited from memory, tracing the outline of his almost faded black eye. "It has a nice ring to it."

He smirked wryly. "I suppose. Could you turn around, Kim?"

Puzzled, the blonde did just that, and in response Jack buried his face in her curly mass of hair, inhaling and sighing with contentment.

"G'night, beautiful," he murmured, and passed out once more.

_Damn_, Kim thought, rubbing the arm around her waist as she herself dozed off. _I don't think I'll ever know everything about this boy. I just hope that he can keep himself alive long enough for me to know a lot._

* * *

**I ALMOST KILLED MY BABY!**

***goes into a corner and cries***

**I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! I just thought it was time for _something _dramatic to happen because this isn't a cliche damn fairytale, and Jack and Kim live in NEW YORK for heavens sake, so _someone _had to find out! I'm sorry! Don't kill me! He's still alive! And he has Kim!**

**T_T**

**I sort of had the vision for this this morning, and then I realized that y'all would probs kill me, but I also knew that this story needed a little bit of roughing up. You can't go against the rules without some kind of consequence-thats just the way life works. Cause and Effect, you know?**

**Gah, I almost bawled when I had to describe Jacks injuries. I swear I'll never do that again. Jack will hopefully stay blemish free until the end of the story...well, optimistically speaking. Can you guys guess who tried to kill our little Jackass? The hint is at the top. First to figure it out gets a shout out next chappie!**

**Btw guys, school starts this coming Monday for me so it'll be harder for me to update. Of course I'll do my best, I'm just warning you.**

**Reviews:**

**Rose2091-Yay! Another fan! You should read Never First, Never Last, you might like it. :) It's a Forwood one-shot.**

**September14Fall-I try for adorable. X) Fluff is so much fun to write. And thank you for the 'well-written' bit. Makes my day. :)**

**ilovepsorts1999-I would've but, well, you see...I decided to beat Jack up instead. GAH, I'M SO MEAN! I'll write a one-shot about dress shopping later, okay? Just for you and nclhdrs1717, who also presented such an idea to me. :) DON'T KILL ME! The next chapter is so much happier!**

**QuillMist9674-Okay!**

**NaturallyWritten-IKR? I'm single, but I've been in a few relationships. ;) The only guy who's ever caught my eye doesn't really realize that Im sort of waiting for him, but I'm such a hopeful romantic that I can write relationships like nobodies business. Its sort of scary, people always ask me if I have the best bf ever to help me write like this, lol. ;) No problem! You deserved it. :D**

**nclhdrs1717-I literally stayed up late waiting for your review. No lie. You always take the time to give me your input on my most recent chapter, and that warms my heart. Long, detailed reviews make me want to write new chapters so as not to let y'all down. :) Ahaha, well I could've just said that Jack was horny. I chose the wordier version :D You probs aren't gonna compliment me after THIS chapter, so I'll just hold the ones you and the other lovely reviewers have given me close to my heart.**

**You guys have to understand-this chapter gives a little bit of backstory to Jack's younger days. You found out that Joan curses a lot, Milton's a doctor, and Jerry's a ladykiller. ;) No really, it shows jut how beat up, physically and emotionally, Jack has been and how opening up to Kim was so special. They have a magical thing going which is truly a blessing for the wrong-side-of-the-tracks, bad luck magnent that Jack is. :)**

**Please review! You can bite of my head (FIGURATIVELY) there if you want. ;D**

**Love,**

**Lil**


	7. Jerry Becomes Stressed Out

**Long time no see, everyone!**

**I cannot TELL you how bad I feel about not updating. This hasn't been the best month for me, mostly because of romantic issues, homework issues, and finding out what the hell I want to do with my life cuz I'm getting closer to college every day and its scaring me out of my pants, but still. Thats no excuse. You guys are dedicated to me, and I should be more dedicated to you.**

**Please forgive me?**

**I was literally screaming with happiness when you guys reviews on chappie 6 were sent to my phone. I was always to go that way beacuse I specialize in the light n' fluffy, but my dark side comes out every once in a while and that chapter was a product of that. I had problems thinking of were the story was going, cuz I'm trying my damnedest to stick with the story. The next thing that happens in Romeo & Juliet after they meet was getting marries, which wasn't going to happen (i.e. the dates) and then Tybalt challenges him to a duel which he refuses (i.e. our poor Jackie getting beat within an inch of his life) but then Mercutio accepts and gets killed...well Mercutio was Jerry in this story, and I couldn't just KILL one of my babies, so I just gave him a huge, unresolvable-for-a-while-at-least problem from his future-thus, Chapter 7. I'm sorry its a bit short, but I'm working on it, I promise.**

**BTW, just saw _Burlesque _today, y'know with Cher and Xtina? Damn, Chrissie did a good job. Pretty good movie, and if you're allowed to see Pg-13 bordering on R for a few scenes, you should really check it out! I was pleasantly suprised. :)**

**Reviews! :D There were buckets for the last chapter X).**

**nclhdrs1717- Loved your review ;D First as almost always, and the one I enjoyed the most. We PM'ed a bit after I got that, so I won't spend to much on you, darlin'.**

**QuillMist9678- I'm pretty sure I'm not a brick wall. ;) I've been in your place more than once, so I know how that feels, feeling like no one is really listening and its not worth it. Every last review I get makes my day, and let me tell you thats its saved me from feeling like a complete failure more than once...wowza, 3 feels. I'm so descriptive! :P**

**September14Fall- NEW YORK CITY! My cousins live in LI and I adore shopping there once a year. Such an amazing city. X)**

**Rose2091- I'm so happy you liked it! Wasn't the new epi AMAZANG?**

**Bubbles237- Ricky, you bad bad boy. Naughttyyyyyy ;)**

**ilovesports1999- And that is the Kick feel for the day. :P GAH I cannot wait until Season 3. The newest pic on Instagram with Leo is just too freakin sexy for words. I think he enjoys teasing us, lol. ;D**

** . .Live- Haha I know how you feel. I have a complicated relationship with a guy at my school :/ It's been going on for three years, so I never truly moved on...and yeah, I get you. Guys are just stupider now, okay? Don't let those tremendous douche's get in your head. We're always worth it, they just have to get it pounded into their ultra-thick skulls.**

**natpereira- Kk!**

**Amy loves you- Aw! You love me? I love me too. ;D Lol, just kidding I love you right back. :D**

**Guest- Okay!**

**BTW #2 everyone figured out it was Ricky, so SHOUT OUT TO EVERYONE! I LOVES YOU!**

**Disclaimer: If I owned Kickin' It...I wouldn't have to write fanfics about Leo taking his shirt off.**

* * *

**Two Weeks Later**

* * *

"Jack. Jackson. JACK. ASS. Come on, bro, _wake the hell up_."

Frowning, Jack winced himself awake; even though most of his bruises were faded and his wounds healed, he still wasn't at tip top physical shape. Despite Milton's protestations, he'd returned the gym and was almost back to top shape though most of his exercises still caused him a bit of pain. Kim was with him almost every day, as well as his buds, but her family had started to become suspicious of what she was doing all day, every day.

Needless to say, he was sleeping alone.

In a demonstration that seemed to reflect when Jack had done the same thing to Jerry that one morning that seemed a forever ago, aforementioned Spaniard was leaning over the brunette's bed, one hand yanking on the lamp light the other shaking Jack's still bruised shoulder.

Cracking open his eyes, Jack lit upon his best mate's face, the look on it instantly throwing him into the world of the awake.

Jerry looked flat out terrified.

"Man, whats happened? The last time you looked like this cousin Ricardo had accidentally thrown your prized flat screen into the pool!"

Jerry sat down with a thump on Jack's bed, the lamp light throwing strange shadows on his pale face, running his hands through his usually immaculate black hair in a poor attempt to calm down. "It's Mika, man." Jerry said hoarsely, dark eyes unseeing as they flitted around the room. "She's back."  
Jack, though sore and recently awakened, instantly put his hand around Jerry's shoulders, ignoring his current state of undress-shirtless with black sweatpants.

"Christ, Jer." Jack told his friend worriedly. "What happened?"

Mika Soprenza was Jerry's first serious girlfriend. After numerous flings, one night stands, and noncommittal relationships, Jerry had walked into a burlesque lounge, and well…she captivated him. Sooner than later, Eddie, Milton, and the rest of the gang had seen the brown haired, brown eyed girl more often than not, proudly displayed on Jerry's arm. All was fine and dandy for about a year, and then the unthinkable happened; Jerry couldn't take it. The pressure of being in a committed relationship was wreaking havoc on him, so he broke through it the only way he knew how. He cheated on her.

A week later Mika was flying for LA and Jerry was left to try Jack's way of coping.

It was the first and last time Jerry had fallen for someone, and despite returning to his player ways everyone knew that the Spaniard had never truly gotten over her.

The news that the burlesque dancer was back in the neighborhood was world shaking for the dancing mogul, so he'd done the only think he knew how to, telling his best friend.

"I was visiting the lounge for old time's sake, and…" Jerry gazed at the ground in distress. "She was there! Dancing and singing and doing things that I'd never thought I'd see her do again, and dammit, Jack-" his voice broke. "Why did she have to come back? Especially now? Milton and Julie's engagement party is in a few days, Eddie just went out of town, you've got that thing with Kim and my business just went up in profit and I can't, Jack. I just can't. Not again."

The brunette sighed, facing the lamplight with an arm still comfortably squeezing his best mates shoulder, eyes and stance brooding. The red light coming from his alarm clock read 12:37 but neither man paid attention to the time, both deep in their own thoughts. Jerry's mind was swirling with possibilities, disbelief, and the buried love he still held for the recently returned young woman, and Jack's brain was calculating all the ways this could turn out, finally coming to the decision that he was sure Einstein would be proud of.

"We need more help with this, man," Jack determined, patting Jerry's back once again and standing up from the brown silk sheets of his California King. Still a bit discombobulated, the physically admirable man went over to the closest wall, unplugging his iPhone and unlocking it swiftly, returning to his bed and sitting next to the still stressed Spaniard.

"What're you going to do?" Jerry asked, almost as an afterthought.

"I'm calling Kim." Jack said determinedly, and the dancer beside him just let out a sigh, running his hands through his hair for the millionth time.

"I trust you, Jack." He said simply, and Jack acknowledged it with a nod of his head, the ringing of the cellular device filling his right ear.

_"Hey! This is Kim, sorry I didn't get to your call, I'll get back to you within 24 hour-JACK?"_

The blonde's voice sounded sleep hoarse and confused, though strong in indignation. Her voice, as beautiful as it always sounded to Jack, had interrupted the first few seconds of her voicemail message, sending her boyfriend into a spazzed out pacing in front of his best friend-of the male gender of course.

"Sorry, beautiful. I know its early."

_"It's barely past midnight, Jack. Technically its late, but go on."_ A yawn sounded on the other end of the line and a part of Jack's brain flickered to how much he'd wished that he'd been sleeping with her. Instead of hearing her sleeping voice in his ear, he wanted to hear it whispered across his chest, his fingers tracing delicate patterns on the soft skin of her bath as they wasted the hours doing everything but sleeping. He wanted to bring breakfast to her, to not have these damn bruises hindering his every move, to-

Focus, Brewer.

_"It is important, right? I swear to God, Jackasss, if it isn't-"_

"It is, it is." Jack let out a breath. "I need you to go down to a burlesque club for me."

A moment of silence.

_"WHAT THE HELL?"_

* * *

**One last thing, my lovelies.**_  
_

**I'm starting a new story (Kickin' It of course) and Jack's sort of a badass, and super sexy...drama too, but more angst than this story. I'd appreciate it if you could check it out! Especially those reviewers who've been with me since the beginning (Explanations)**

**Love y'all,**

**Lil**


	8. Mika Is A Penny

**LONG TIME NO SEE!**

**I whipped this chapter out like fresh ice cream for my loyal, loyal readers, so I hope you appreciate it. My chemistry grade isn't happy with me, so I'm hoping you are. ;)**

**I will be updating _Ain't No Sunshine _tomorrow if all goes well, so yay!**

**Stay tuned after the chappie, there's a wee bit of a contest.**

**88Madison88- GIRL I MISSED YOU! Don't go leaving me again! Chap 5-Wasn't it? Kick feels! Chap 6-You were right ;) Chap 7-Haha Ikr? Kim was seriously pissed, and who wouldn't? A freaking burlesque club at one in the morning? The real question is WHY your bf would be asking, am I right?**

**Nialler- Of course. :) *hugz***

** . .Live- Will do!**

**kaecdc-Ikr? Our baby Jer, falling for a BURLESQUE DANCER? The scandal. ;P**

**nclhdrs1717-Yeah, I know the shortness is depressing. I apologize-I made this one pretty long to make up for it. OMW you have a cast?! Who BUSTED UP MY BEAUTIFUL REVIEWER? LET ME AT 'EM! It's a wee bit hard, so I do it in turns. Hahaha, yeah Kim is a possibility, but Jack's a given. Its one of the ways he shows he cares. Jer's always been my baby. He reminds me of one of my besties, who I call my baby girl, so it just sorta happened. Jack and Jer and Milton...*sigh*. Those boys,**

**September14Fall- Even the Ghetto parts have their allure, am I right? ;)**

**ilovesports1999- Yeah, I get what you mean. Shirtless without visuals? Unfair!**

* * *

Clutching her canvas bag to her chest, Kim's wide tea eyes were terrified as she glanced around the burlesque club.

All she knew about these kind of places was what Joan told her, and what she'd seen the movie _Burlesque_. Yeah, she was a fan of Xtina. No judgment, but those songs were amazing.

To tell the truth, judging from what was playing out before her eyes the movie had actually been pretty accurate.

The Big Apple was larger than Kim had expected, the walls painted in varying shades of black, red, burgundy, and gold. The bar was wide, curved, and smooth, the color of Jack's hair. The floor was wooden as well, with many tables spread across the floor, ornate styled black iron and velvet cushions. The stage was the center of everything, with its phenomenal, two layer, scalloped black curtain on a wide, diamond plated stage.

Needless to say, Kim was pretty freaking impressed.

Looking at all the well dressed individuals around her, talking, drinking, and smoking up a storm, Kim felt rather underdressed and unimportant, her curly blonde hair in a messy bun, spirals dangling around her face in the way that Jack seemed to adore. Her top was a hanging tank top with blue and silver sequins, a black miniskirt on her tanned thighs. Black wedge heels rested on freshly red nail painted feet and thick mascara rested on her eyes, somehow suiting her and not looking overboard like most girls Kim was certain she was going to meet.

The dancers were in between numbers, she supposed, so she headed to the bar for a tequila and a tray of bourbon for Jack, who was supposed to be meeting her there. Totally ignoring the bar tender checking her out like a book, Kim slid onto the bar stool and placed her bag on the counter, letting her eyes rove across the room.

They stopped on a little open booth where one very distinct, very trademarked, and very familiar pair of Vans peeked out from the private, table-for-two. Grabbing her bag and leaving some money on the counter to insure that her drinks were taken care of, Kim stood up and walked towards the booth, starting and partly hiding behind the next one over when she heard a voice that she'd just heard this morning, calling to ask if she was attending his nephews birthday party. _Ricky. Weaver._

"You know this whole thing is doomed to fail, right? No matter what the hell you two think your doing it will ruin_ both_ your companies, destroy your social reputation, and ultimately tear you apart. Who the hell do you think you are to date my cousin anyway, you bastard?"

"Ricky, we aren't here to talk about whether or not I deserve Kim." That voice was even more well loved to Kim than the first's-this was the voice that had called her out of bed ridiculously early this morning, who'd offered her a champagne glass of hard liquor on the roof of a strobe-lighted building, the voice that had betrayed a soft spot for her babies and an extraordinary aptitude for being sexy when the owner had just woken up.

_That was Jack's voice, and Kim'd be damned if it wasn't._

"We're here to make sure that you don't go after any of my friends-_yet again may I add_-and just leave us the fuck alone. You go off in your own little millionaire world and leave Kim, as well as my friends, to live their own lives. You want a score to settle, you settle it with ME, not them."

Kim could almost hear the smirk in Ricky's voice when he answered her boyfriend, a pale, doll-like arm draping out of the booth to motion for one of the stripper-like waitresses to give him a drink. "You really want another bullet in your side, Brewer bastard?"

A hard sigh came out of the enclosed space. "It's not me that really minds it, Ricky. I can't face seeing Kim like that again. In the course of a month and a half, you've tried to ruin Milton's reputation as a doctor, you've put pressure on everyone that's ever hired Eddie, messed with Grace's daycare finances and attempted to make Julie quit her accounting job. Thank God I had enough strings to pull to negate all that shit, but really Ricky? You bring back Jerry's one and only old flame just to torture him?" The brunette snorted. "You're even more of a son of a bitch than Kim's told me."

A growl resounded from the side of the booth that Kim assumed her cousin was. "Don't question my methods, Brewer bastard."

The other speaker released a shuddering breath. "Are you in love with anyone, Ricky?"

Kim vaguely realized that Justin Timberlake's newest song _Suit & Tie_ was resounding through the speakers placed strategically all over the room, heralding the return of the dancers and undoubtedly Mika, but the conversation she was eavesdropping on was just too riveting, heartbreaking, and confusing for her to fully notice.

Why was Jack talking to Ricky?_ Ricky freaking Orlando Weaver, her cousin!_ He knew what kind of relationship the two had, and yet he was there, talking to one of her worst enemies like he was having afternoon tea with the Queen. It was true-she had actually looked up the YouTube video of him having Tea with the Queen, and he had look damn fine while doing it, but that's off topic.

"Why on earth would I want that kind of shackle on me, Brewer?" A dark chuckle, so unlike Jack's that it sent shivers of unease roiling down Kim's spine, punctuated the previous statement with characteristic Ricky charm. "Anyway, I have an engagement to get to. Just be careful, Brewer bastard. No matter what kind of psycho bitch she it, Kim is still my cousin."

And with that, her pompous bastard of a cousin exited the booth with all the sleazy charm of a crooked lawyer, and her boyfriend was left alone in the booth.

Emboldened with what she felt was righteous anger, Kim stomped back to the bar, gathering her liquor, and angrily returned to the booth, thumping unceremoniously into the plush, wine velvet seat across from her Jackass.

"What the hell was that?" Kim hissed, eyes flashing although she had to admit they were doing a load more than just shooting daggers. Despite the fact that Jack's matching black (three buttons open) dress shirt and dress jeans were getting the blonde all hot and bothered cold fingers of dread were creeping up the back of her neck. Ricky Weaver may be a lot of things, but a man of idle threats he was not.

A soft smile lit upon Jack's highly kissable lips and he leaned forward, shutting her up mid rant with a brain melting kiss that made Kim's insides go all glowy. "You can't kiss your way out of this one, mister," Kim mumbled against his lips, but even as he moved in for another of her kisses, she could feel her resistance dying.

"Despite how untrue that statement might be," Jack remarked, sliding an arm around the blonde's waist and kicking back what Kim was sure wasn't his first shot of the night "I was just talking things out with your cousin. No under the table compromises with that crazy sonovabitch, I promise."

"Mhm." Kim sighed, snuggling into his warm side, well known muscles smooth and velvety against her sequined dress. "You like my outfit?"

Her boyfriends dark eyes went even darker, if possible, when they did a quick roll over her top and skirt. "You're such a tease," he groaned playfully (with a little bit of truth, Kim guessed) and grinned at her. Picking up another shot glass he motioned towards the burlesque dancer in the middle, shimmying and shaking to the chorus of the recently married Timberlake's collaborator song.

"That dancer in the middle?-That's Mika."

Mika Soprenza was freaking gorgeous.

Her hair was the same glowing coppery shade of a fresh penny, the nickname of 'Jerry's Penny Serenade' finally becoming clear to the blonde. It was waved to her shoulders, a much softer curl than Kim's own, with an alluring sheen that addressed the many wolf whistles from the club. Eyes large, dark emerald, and sultrily expressive, the slight woman twined her body in phenomenal ways that had Kim catching her breath, not missing a beat of the classy song. Her outfit was black and white, sort of someone had torn up a tuxedo, ladled diamonds all over it, then threw seventy five percent of it away and had sewn the rest of the scraps together. Mika was absolutely glowing with happiness up on stage, and being someone who enjoyed her craft as well, Kim felt an instant kinship to her.

It was easy to see why Jerry had fallen for her. Kim had a brief mental image of Jerry and Mika doing the tango and instantly shook it out of her head when her one-track mind substituted clothing and replaced the previous couple with Kim herself and the brunette heir with a hot arm with roving, blazing fingers around her waist, playing on her thigh with such a way that it was miracle Kim wasn't jumping his bones right there.

Jack's phone dingled and he lazily drew it out of his pocket, the tray in front of them whisked away by a skimpily clad waitress because of the quick work Kim's boyfriend had done to the hard spirits. Grimacing, he nudged it over so Kim could see what it wrote;

_Jerry: R u here? Do u see her? It's Mika, man. Goddammit, I'm freaking out, I don't know what the hell to do, its HER ITS HER ITS HER ITS HER_

_Jerry: whale._

"Jerry only gets random when he's desperately frazzled," Jack explained to Kim's questioning gaze. With a resigned loosing of breath, the blonde turned her head to watch the bowing girl on stage, feeling a pitying lump in the core of her stomach.

Poor Jerry was fucked up now.

* * *

**QUICK MY DADS COMING TO PICK ME UP FOR ORCHESTRA THE TWO CONTESTS ARE**

**WHICH PERSPECTIVE DO YOU WANT FOR THE NEXT CHAPTER**

**1. MILTON**

**2. JERRY**

**3. JACK**

**AND DO YOU WANT ME TO TIE OFF JERRY'S LITTLE SIDE STORY OR KEEP GOING**

**GAAAHHHH! HE'S HERE, WISH ME LUCK!**

**Love,**

**Lil**


	9. Julie Asks Questions

**YES! UPLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAA AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAADDDDDDD DDDDDDD!**

**It's been a while, my lovely people, and I apologize-but you should know that I REFUSE to give up on this story. I promise it will have a satisfactory ending, pinky swear, in all its finished glory.**

**After I'm gone the reviews, I'm gonna let you read the chapter, but _MAKE SURE YOU KEEP READING. _There's a ridiculously awesome contest at the end. ;)**

**kaecdc-I'm glad. ;)**

**ilovesports1999-Oh I know who Ross Lynch is. :) He and Laura Marano look cute together, but I miss the old Disney me know if they kiss on the newest epi okay? I want to know!**

**nclhdrs1717-I'M SORRY I DIDN'T DO JERRY'S! He has to be in the next chapter, but he couldn't fit in this one. It just wasn't going to work, so don't read this and hate me, okay? I would absolutely die of sadness. YOU SAVED MINE FOR LAST? Oh gods I feel even specialler. Soccer is one of my favorite sports-and coming from someone who's first time honestly watching ANY sports game was the Super Bowl this year is saying a lot. I hope you recover and get back on the field soon. ;) CHINNY CHIN CHINS. After the Jerry and Mika get their thing worked out, Jack and Kim can back to scoodilypooping it until I drop another disaster on them. If you read 'Welcome Distractions' I made many allusions to and almost went to writing Jack and Kim having sex...I'm not srue if I can do it justice/bring myself to write that kind of smut yet. :P I'll take it into consideration I promise. Anticipation-A-N-T-I-C-I-P-A-T-I-O-N. Just like 'Ant' with a Tic-tac and pation (patience). :D**

**88Madison88-SHIT HIT THE CEILING! Lol its funny, JACK's the pissed one in this chapter but I won't give too much away... ;) Milty's in there, darlin', I remembered.**

** 02-Why hello! It's nice to see a new reviewer (don't get me wrong I love my old ones). And of course! Here you go!**

**Amy loves you-I WILL NEVER LET YOU DOWN! dun-du-duh-DUH!**

**Happy Reading!**

**Disclaimer-Dear gods I wished I owned Kickin' It.**

* * *

**Jack**

_Me: Kim, babe, relax. I got it under control._

_Kim: DON'T call me babe, Jackson Brewer. You don't know who you're dealing with-Ricky's a dangerous guy, pompous bastard he may be but a man of empty threats he is not. I don't want to find you dead this time, okay?_

_Me: Beautiful, come on, second times the charm, right? Besides, I have backup now, and information. I'm not going into this a babe in the woods, okay?_

_Kim: Sweetheart, its THIRD times the charm. I'm just worried about you…_

_Me: I know. And I promise I'll be careful-I just can't live like this, you know? I can't think knowing that every waking and sleeping moment Ricky can hurt _

_you guys and I can't do a damn thing to stop it._

_Kim: …I know the feeling._

_Me: I love you, Kim. And I can't stand the though of seeing you hurt, okay? You deal with Jerry, and I'll take care of the Ricky problem-no matter what._

_Kim: Fine. I love you too, Jackass, just know that._

* * *

**Milton**

" Do you really use a-"

"Stripping pole? Yes."

"Do you actually-"

"Use it? Dance on it? Well duh, it's there for a reason."

"Does the job even-"

"Make any money? Hell yeah, we don't do it for fun! Okay, maybe a little for fun but for most girls just for the money. THEN you actually start to get into it."

Despite the current situation, Milton David Krupnick's uneasiness about taking one of his best friends ex-girlfriends to dinner with his own girlfriend was somewhat even with his amusement at watching Mika and Julie get along. Their exchanges were very funny, Julie's even temper and honest curiosity reacting well with Mika's perpetually amused personality and world weary attitude.

The auburn brunette on his right was very prettily framed by the cool air and blue skies of outer Manhattan as she perched on the wicker chair, their balcony seating causing the few lazy breezes to ruffle the ends of her almost-perfectly-done French braided bun. An off the shoulder navy blue sailor shirt was tucked into Julie's flowy black skirt and low wedge heels rested on her delicate feet, glasses propped on top her head as if they were sunglasses due to the lack of need for her to see far away.

Jerry's Penny Serenade was dressed in such contrast it almost seemed to staged in comparison. A low cut white tank top rested on Mika's willowy upper frame, covered by a black vest hoodie Milton was convinced he'd seen the Spaniard wear that one summer when they were kids when he destroyed Rudyville. Worn skinny jeans clothed her normally bared legs and grey and white Osiris sneakers were on her feet. Mika's trademark shined copper hair was in a messy bun and her eyes were as bright and alert as the first day Milton had met her.

Milton himself was dressed more demurely in a top-button-open grey dress shirt, classy emerald green suit jacket and, as unbelievable as it may seem, flat-ironed black jeans. Yeah, that's right. Milton knew a guy.

Julie had barely begun to open her mouth for another question before Milton caught eyes with her and she shut up, leaning back in her chair so her boyfriend could talk. "Mika, do you know the reason that I called you here today, in this illustrious example of the American dream flourishing in a well cultured environment?"

Mika gave him a look, helping to pass out dishes when the waiter inopportunely appeared. "It has something to do with Jerry, doesn't it?"

Julie speared a piece of salmon as her warm eyes flicked to Milton's own, a silent please don't mess this up transmitted in her gaze. "Sort of," the taken girl admitted and Mika sighed, examining a piece of garlic bread with a sad sort of brooding.

"I guess I owe you guys-and him-an apology for why I left."

"An apology?" Milton's brow crinkled as he glanced up at her, placing a bite of some exquisitely put together chicken alfredo in his mouth. "But I thought Jerry cheated-" He caught Julie's glare and swallowed, a blush tinting his academic cheeks. "Sorry. We all thought that your leaving was justified. He was caught…um, scoodilypooping it with another girl."

The copper headed young woman frowned at her breadstick and placed it back in the basket, reaching instead for the dressing for her salad, her movements as dainty and precise as the girl next to her, virtually soundless against the gentle chatter of the open restaurant. "That's my Jeremy," Mika said a little wistfully. "Taking the blame for things I have done."

"Whadya mean?" Julie's usually articulate speech was marred by almost choking on a piece of green bean, so both her boyfriend and her new friend waited for her to recover before continuing on with the discussion.

"You guys know I'm not a born American right?" Both of her companions nodded yes. "I'm was born Russian, but my family moved around so much my heritage is a colossal mess. Either way, I was originally a mail order bride."

Julie almost choked on her green beans again, so Milton passed her the water jug to prevent her from future choking.

"The reason I left New York was because my…husband found me, and was sending me voicemails, threatening to kill me and giving me all kinds of threats if I didn't come back to him." Mika took a shuddering breath. "The night I left…is the night that he almost killed Jerry."

* * *

**Jack**

I hate dirty blondes.

Now when I say 'dirty' blondes, I mean both the personality and the person. I'm telling you that from the bottom of my heart there is a special place reserved for hating those of the bastard, sonovabitch type of dirty blondes. Especially ones that threaten my friends and left me a calling card about raping the only girl I love in this world.

Resting on the glass countertop of a gunsmith in the deepest, darkest parts of New York City I was absolutely positive that there is a special place in hell for dirty blondes, where they will have all their loved ones killed over and over until they went mad and then were tortured with hallucinations of all the past evils of their former life, and yes, I wasn't in a good mood. How on earth did you know?

"How fucking long does it take to get a damn gun in this town," I growled to the people around me in general, my shoulders bunched and tense under the blue and white long sleeved v-neck I was wearing, my Van clad feet itching to kick some dirty blonde butt and dark brown leather jacket bunched at my elbows.

"Calm the hell down, man," Jerry consoled, throwing an arm around my shoulder as I glared moodily at the back room that the spindly old man had disappeared into in what seemed like ages before. "Rudy said that Joan said that he's knows his stuff." He gave a crooked grin to their older companions, dark eyes still broken, the shields still in ruins after the Mika shock of barely three days ago.

Rudy Gillespie was more Jerry and Joan's friend than mine, an up and coming manager of the Wasabi Wine chain as well as a major crime lord. Though small in stature, he had already shown himself to be a good friend to Jer and I, and I had seen him kick some serious ass that one time in the Bronx, but-I'm off target. He was dressed unassumingly in a fisherman's hat, worn camo jacket, white shirt, and jeans, but he was in what looked like an intense conversation with his Bluetooth about…cheese. I'm going to take a wild guess and hope that its really secret code and he hasn't been cloned or something.

The light brown haired man chuckled and patted me on the back, coming to stand on my right to flank me along with Jerry. "Terrell may not look like much, but he's the full package." He gesture to himself. "Just look at me! I don't look like I took down an entire crime lord family in a night, do I?"

Jerry widened his eyes and looked away from him and spoke to me. "He reaaalllyy doesn't."

A thankful minute later, Terrell the Gun Tycoon returned from the backroom with two weapons of war, a SWAT mini K and what he called a M-4 Carbine. Both were gleaming and looked to be in top shape, engineered to execute flawlessly in more ways than one. The aging black man eyed me with a experienced look, studying me as I turned the M-4 Carbine around in my hands with a less than virtuous intent.

"Son do you know how to shoot a gun?" His voice was extremely low in timber when he directed the question at me and I gave a pained, wry chuckle as I ran my fingers over the cool metal of the gun.

"I had an older brother named Ryan," I told him, bringing the weapon up to my eye to get a feel for what it would be like to shoot it. "He was more a father to me that my biological one-when he came back home from the service for a year and half, he taught me and my twin sister Lea how to shoot."

Jerry glared at me. "You didn't tell me that," he muttered quietly, obviously hurt.

I sighed. "We used to be able to shoot, disassemble, and assemble any gun or firing weapon you put in front of us…he returned to the army after his release period was over and died merely a month in." I put the weapon back on the counter tenderly. "My sister left us soon afterwards but I kept the skill in their memory." Jerry was silent. He knew that anything to do with Lea _or_ Ryan was touchy, and the soft touch he gave to my back signified his apologies.

"Do you mind if I test you out?" Terrell's question was only founded by honest wanting to know who he was giving his guns to, so I answered it respectfully. A bit of my anger receded, having the guns in my hands and talking about Lea and Ryan, so I gave the elderly man a crooked smile.

"Sure." As we all walked towards the shooting range on the opposite side of the shop, I said, almost musingly, "I think I should name them."

"How about Kim and Anne?" Jerry suggested jokingly, covering up his own Mika-pain and teasing me to get back into my good graces. "I'm sure Kim wouldn't mind you kicking Ricky's ass with her…" He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. "Unless You wanted to kick her ass…"

"Dude that is so wrong," I complained, running my fingers on the SWAT mini K thoughtfully. "Well, Desdemona means cursed by fate and Mallory basically means messed up, so…" I smirked. "Gentlemen, meet Desi and Mall." Chuckling, I put down the gun and picked up the noise deafening earmuffs. "We're going to have great fun kicking ass together. _Great_ fun."

* * *

**Kim**

_Dear Shiloh,_

_I KNOW its been forever and I KNOW you sort of hate me for not replying, but I've going through some stuff and I've been crazy busy, and-_

_Yes, before you ask, I got laid._

_I met this guy, and he's sweet and loving and treats me like fine china…he's so delicate with me and my feelings and is almost crazily obsessed with keeping me safe and God I love him. So much. He's got this killer way of running his hand through his hair that you wouldn't get unless you were there, but, we are not here to talk about him._

_I need your help, Shi. A couple of my friends are having long buried, legitly crazy relationship issues and haven't talked in like four years. I need to get them back together but I don't know what to do-in my limited knowledge of relationships I figured the best thing to do was write you, since, hello-you're a friggin' high paid marriage counselor. Who ELSE would be better for the job?_

_Could you come up to New York for the weekend? You can come on Friday and leave on Monday (cause you have work on Tuesdays) and we could hang out and catch up while you're not fixing my buds relationship issues-beSIDES the flight from Maryland to NYC isn't very long and I'd pay for the whole thing cause God knows you can't pass up a free trip._

_I know you have family you need to avoid in New York, but we can make arrangements, right? I mean, what are the chances that the brother-who-thinks-you're-dead knows us? Pretty slim._

_Come on, Shi! I need you! I've never asked for you before, so call it paying it forward. Now I owe you one. :P If you want to come, I attached the tickets for you and another friend if you want and everything to this letter and will be waiting for you when your flight lands._

_PLEEEEEEAAASSSEEE?_

_Love,_

_Kim_

_PS-If you want all the sordid, messy girl details about me being laid the only way your gonna find out is if you come. I mean, what kind of person writes that stuff on paper? And yes, I know you write smutty novels in your spare time, now it NOT the time to bring it up. :D_

_PPS-GINGER BISCUITS! See, now you have to come._

_Love again,_

_Your best friend,_

_Kim_

* * *

**When Shiloh comes to New York, she's gonna bring a friend-and friend will be one of you! The reviewer who puts the most thought and insight in their review will have a part in the very next chapter, with only a few stipulations-**

**1. You have to have a fanfiction account so I can message you when you win**

**2. You have to make a guess about why Shiloh is so important to the story (and see if you can piece together who she is ;D)**

**3. You have to tell me your favorite moment of Jackeo & Kiminet so far/Kickin It Season 2**

**Happy reviewing!**

**Love,**

**Lil**


	10. Shiloh Gets Shocked

**Okay, I would make this longer, but I have a debate coming up so I'm just gonna say that amandaxoxo and nclhdrs1717 were the winners. :) I loved reading all of your comments though. Please keep commenting! They make me wanna keep writing to please all my wonderful reviewers! ;D**

**kaedc-Hahaha you don't have to be dirty to write smut. You just have to have a naughty mind. I've come pretty close to smut before, and lookie here! I'm not too dirty, am I? :)**

**nclhdrs1717-Already PM'ed you when you won, but I have to respond to my lovely reviews. :) No one every explained sports to me! I never knew what was happening and felt neglected.. :( yeah, wooo Ravens! I fully support them now. :D I actually live near Maryland (not telling y'all too much) so yeah, WE ROCK! Gun control? Psh. I did a debate on gun control in seventh grade and it was seriously fucked up and complicated. Jack doesn't _need _gone control-he's a fully loaded shotgun 100% of the time. :P LOVE, MEMEMEMEME!**

**chey1235-You were the first to figure out that Shiloh was really Lea! Honorable mention just for that. :D HONORABLE MENTION GOES TO CHEY1235 EVERYONE! Who doesn't have a lot of favorite moments? I cannot wait for Season 3. I literally had a dream last night that I was watching all the Kickin it Season 2 episodes with the cast and I actually started crying because missed it so much...I woke up with a wet pillow. T_T**

**Bobz1212-Happy to have a new reviewer! :) Will do!**

**ilovesports1999-I'm guessing you live close or in NY, then? I'm happy I'm doing justice to such an amazing city. :) I love visiting NYC every summer with my cousins, so its an honor to be credited for portraying it right. Romance is danger! Lol. :3**

**amandaxoxo-BTW I hope I did a good job with your character. It was kind of hard, but I think I did her justice. Sorry this is so short, btw. It's just...GAH I feel like I've answered you already! I hope you enjoy it. :)**

**BringingTheFun-Thanks for being my 60th reviewer! It's truly an honor. :D **

**Amy loves you-I love you to, lol. ;) I have a dedicated reader who's declared her dedicatedness?! Okay, I freaking love you.**

**Disney Lover 1-Of course! I love to make you guys happy. ;)**

**Lotsafanfic101-Thank you so much for reviewing! It's nice to see a few new usernames. ;)**

**As always, Good Night, Good Luck, and enjoy!**

**Love,**

**Lil**

**BTW Any thoughts on who I should spend more writing on tomorrow? Kick, Jika, or Jilton? :) Leave responses in the comment section!**

* * *

Kim might be a serious overachiever, but she was only human.

Her hands had the slightest bit of shake to them as they unlocked the relatively ornate stained glass front door of her apartment, strands of straightened blonde hair falling over her shoulders with the motion. The black headband holding back the wee-bit-more-than-shoulder-length waterfall stood its ground against the golden onslaught, matching the black blousy button down Kim was wearing and her worn grey blue boot cut jeans. Tired feet were shod in cherry red flats, make up soft, sweet, and simple as Kim wearily opened the front door.

A barking, salivating Sunny was the first to reach her, pouncing on Kim as she placed her khaki bag on the ground, closely followed by a lazier Sarge and possibly even more hyperactive Joey, newly recovered from surgery. "Hey darlings," Kim murmured to them, closing her eyes and getting lost in the tangle of furry bodies. "Did you miss me?" All three pooches responded that they did in their own doggy way and Kim chuckled, finally standing up as all but Joey left to do their own doggy business.

Ruffling the short hair on Joey's dark head one last time, Kim stood up, hazel eyes searching and confused-

Where was Jack?

She had gotten used to having him around these last two months, used to him clanging around in her kitchen, cooking gourmet meals when Kim would've just nuked a pizza in the microwave. She'd gotten used to him kissing her good morning and kissing her hello when she got back from work. She'd gotten used to snuggling into his side at two o'clock at night, to watching football games and actually enjoying it because of his own excitement. She'd gotten used to running her fingers through his hair with his head on her lap, reading on her Kindle as he puzzled out his next karate routine. She'd gotten used to finding places to hide from him, squealing when he finally caught her and making him beg for mercy when she tickled his feet, big as they were. She'd gotten used to looking up at random times of the day to see him wandering around the condo with a confused, sleepy look on his face in only his boxers, and the times when he forgot the boxers too. She'd gotten used to waking up at random points in the night because he occasionally sleep talked and he told her some of his deepest secrets without him knowing.

Jack had become a permanent staple in Kim's house and she _liked_ it that way-

So why hadn't he greeted her at the door with a teasing kiss like he always did?

The sound of a guitar being picked answered that question for her, and smiling softly despite her fatigue she padded over to the master bedroom, leaning on the inside of the door at the sight before her.

The brunette Brewer heir was perched on the edge of the plush white comforter, the brown silk sheets in a messy sort of nest around him and the pure black guitar. A white and red shirt, similar to the one that Zac Efron wore in High School Musical (she thinks. It's been a while since she'd seen it) and low slung grey sweatpants clad her handsome bed partner and his lean, pleasuring fingers drew themselves across the guitar like a lover on his love's skin. A beautiful, soft melody was spun out by his swiftly moving fingers, both the left and the right, and he was singing softly under his breath in time with the music.

"_And your heart's against my chest, your lips pressed to my neck. I'm fallin' for your eyes, but they don't me yet. With this feeling I'll forget, I'm in love, now. Kiss me, like you wanna be loved. You wanna be loved. You wanna be, loved. This, feels, like fallin' in love. Fallin' in love. Fallin', in-"_

"Hey Jackass," Kim said softly, making Jack start, chuckle and run a hand through his hair.

"Beautiful, did you hear that?" He answered sheepishly, glancing up at her from under his lashes in a way that made her melt every time.

The blonde shrugged. "Just the cords. It's a really pretty tune. Did you write it?"

Jack chuckled again, looking everywhere but her in embarrassment. "Naw."

"Would you play some of it for me?" Kim had a tender smile on her face as she said it, pushing off the door frame and kissing Jack's forehead on the way to the bathroom. "I have to take a shower, and it would be nice to hear." She smirked. "I could kick your ass instead, if you want."

"Hey! I have a very attractive ass I'd want you to know," Jack defended with an indignant look on his face, causing Kim to laugh as she undressed in the bathroom. The brunette, being the twenty something year old he was, leaned forward slightly to watch Kim, silently envying the bathroom mirror for its undoubtedly great view.

"Stop staring at me, Jack!"

"Why not? It's not like I haven't seen it before!"

"So? You don't need to refresh your memory every time I get dirty!"

"Oh, but I usually don't have to."

A pair of cherry red shoes came flying out of the bathroom, hitting smack dab in the middle of Jack's guitar, making a twanging sound.

"Hey! This guitars expensive!"

"Yeah? Well so is sex tonight!"

"But I'm poor!"

"Suck it up!"

"But you usually do that for me-"

"Jaaaaaack!" Kim finally came out the bathroom, propping her hands on her hips in indignation. "Will you stop it with the perverted jokes?"

Her boyfriends sighed, normally brooding eyes dilated and mysterious as they roamed her body. "I had a bad day today."

"Take it out on the guitar!" Kim giggled, spinning on her heel and stomping back to the shower.

Jack shrugged. "_You had a bad day, you taking one down, you sing a bad song just to turn it around-"_

"JACKSON MICHAEL BREWER!"

"Sorry." Jack smirked, and for a second Kim regretted coming out of the bathroom with no clothes on. Eh, whatever. He'd seen it all ebfore anyhow.

Even as Kim dropped the towel and stepped into the already steamy shower, she kept the smile on her face. Yep, some things were just too good to be true. So what if Jack was a little pervy sometimes and was obsessed with protecting her-he was Jack. _Her_ Jack. No one elses.

And to Kim, that seemed pretty damn good.

* * *

**Jerry**

"Jerry, do you see them? Is it two yet?"

Sighing, the Spaniard who'd had his world shaken ran a hand through his spiked dark hair, black eyes weary and confused. He wasn't really sure how Kim talked him into going with her to the airport to pick up her out of town girlfriend-and-friends, when he could've been doing much better things with his time…

And before you ask-yes, it did include going to The Big Apple.

What? He's a guy! And he still loves her, even though…yeah. That.

Clad in a simple white v-neck, lime green hoodie, jeans and supra's Jerry would rather be anywhere _but_ at the JFK International Airport, but Kim and Jack's combined puppy dog eyes had worn down his already weakened resistance. He suppose he should be giving the pacing blonde something to really worry about, but he'd already given her coffee. Hey, job half done right?

"Kim, mamacita, it's gonna be fine okay? I'm sure, um, that…"

Kim glared at him, light blue polka dot long sleeved shirt and skinny jeans turning on the full power of the braided curly blonde's dismay.

"Shiloh."

"Yeah. I'm sure that_ Shiloh_ and her buddies will be here soon! I mean, it's not like the plane crashed. Or was abducted by terrorists. Or caught on fire. Or was mysteriously captured by aliens-"

"JERRY! Not helping."

"Sorry, yo." Jerry sighed and folded his arms across his chest again. This could be a long wait.

As if God had heard his desperate plea, three girls rounded the bend of one of the many columns, the tallest of which Kim seemed to recognize.

"SHI!" she squealed, running to her as the brunette she was running to yelled "Kimmy!" and of course, they hugged.

Ew. Girl germs.

Despite his currently taken-until-further-notice status, Jerry was a guy, so he did take the time to check out all three of the girls.

The tallest one, Shiloh he assumed, was about five six with cinnamon peach skin and sparkling green-brown eyes. Her hair was long, chocolate, and curling, the part from the nape of her neck to the tips on her waist dyed an auburn color that faded to pale red at the end. A side bang on her left eye was pulled back with a pretty swag pair of aviator glasses. She was willowy, with enough chest to be proud about and a nice ass, if Jerry was telling the truth. A blue and white blousy button down was on her top half, paired with skinny jeans and Hello Kitty Vans-

Wait a second. Hello Kitty?

Shaking his head slightly to remove the disturbing images of one of his many siblings torturing his with a white, cat shaped plush toy, Jerry focused on the first of the other girls, around five four with thick dark hair almost the same color of Jerry's own, the same length as Kim's. Her eyes were as blue as the sea sky, a backwards Spider-Man cap on her head and a hanging navy, pale blue, and white striped tank top with longish basketball shorts. Her skin color suggested a vaguely Argentinean heritage by the level of tan, but the way she stood and way she greeted Kim told Jerry a few things-one, she'd been to Las Vegas, or somewhere with a lot of bars. She held her suitcase key like a martini glass for heavens sake. Two, she had a quick mind, because those brilliant eyes of hers took in the entire airport, him in Kim included, with a sharp air that denoted education. She was no dummy. And three, she was a tomboy, through and through. Hello, she wasn't even checking Jerry out…woah, wait. She was. Just…subtler than most.

Presented with evidence that he really did still have it, Jerry gave himself a mental pat on the back and resolved that he would probably like this girl.

The last girl accompanying Kim's Marylander friend was the complete opposite of the tomboy. Her hair was beach blonde and wavy, short, but long enough to put in a teeny ponytail at the top of her head. Her skin was the kind of tan one earned from working on a farm every summer and her eyes a rare sort of clear amber that Jerry appreciated for half a second, thinking about how those eyes would look when he swept her in his arms and-

FOCUS, MARTINEZ. FOCUS!

Anyway. She chewed gum like she owned the world, but the ripply cotton sundress she was wearing softened the entire deal. Drawstring straps and layered white fabric hid was Jerry was positive was a slim frame, but her face was rosy with barely concealed Southern happiness.  
What? Her suitcase was dripping with little hangy-things that practically screamed I'M FROM NASHVILLE TENNESSEE AND I WAS BROUGHT UP ON COUNTRY MUSIC. Jerry wasn't really a mind reader, but the sticker across the back that had I'M FROM NASHVILLE TENNESSEE AND I WAS BROUGHT UP ON COUNTRY MUSIC kind of tipped him off.

As the entire party drew nearer to him, Jerry stood up a little straighter. Mika used to kill him when he acted like a slouch in front of new people. She used to say that…_oh gods. He thought about her again._

Before Jerry's slightly optimistic mood could truly wilt, the females reached him and Kim gave out some hurried introductions.

"Girls, this is Jerry!"

"'Sup," The short brunette greeted, a slight smirk on her face."I'm Natalia, but feel free to call me Nat…dude is that a lime green hoodie? No, man. Not after Labor Day."

The stricken look on Jerry's face-_oh gods what have I done she already hates me Mika is gonna kill him_-faded and turned into good humor when the girl laughed at him.

"Just kidding." She chuckled, reaching out a hand. "Nice to meet you Jerry."

"Uh…" Jerry scratched the back of his neck, visibly confused. "Nice to meet you too?"

"I'm Dusty," the blonde offered, trying to ward off the awkwardness that Nat had just drawn upon the little group. "I like you, but stare at my boobs again and I'll rip you a new one."

Jerry gave Kim a horrified glance. Did she want him here on PURPOSE just so they could kill him? He hadn't had this bad of a reception with girls since that time in 9th grade when he'd accidentally spiked his own punch and threw up all over Donna Tobin and her crew-_after_ she and Jack had gotten together.

"Jerry." Still scared for his life, Jerry whipped his eyes to the first one he'd scene, a mischievous smile on her face. "Snap out it, man. I'll protect you."

Jerry let out a sigh and rubbed his face in defeat. "Thank you. I was kind of scared there."

"I'm Shi." Kim's best friend from another state returned, smacking him on the back in companionship and throwing an arm around his shoulder."I'm the not homicidal one. That is only if…"All four girls laughed when Jerry just whimpered ran from Shiloh, hiding behind the only female in the group that hadn't threatened to kill him within five minutes of meeting him-oh wait. Kim had almost ended his life when he hit on her when Jack was dying…whatever. Kim was his best bet.

"Dude. I'm joking with you. I've decided you're someone worth being friends with, so you're safe."

"I'm not going to survive the ride back with you guys." Jerry sighed at last, forced to carry that shouldn't-these-suitcases-be-lighter-damn-they're-only-gonna-be-here-for-a-weekend bags while the girls chatted it up behind him. "I need to call Jack. Maybe he can save me."

* * *

**Kim**

First things first, Shi was here. And when Shi was here, the world wasn't doomed. It was just on a set timer to doom so I didn't have to worry as much. Shiloh Lilith Michaels was about as crazy as she could be, but she had a good head on her shoulder. I trusted her, and I know what she could do. Jerry and Mika would and could be fixed…as long as I kept her away from the alcohol.

"Kimberly Anne Crawford. You live here?" Shi's mouth was open with astonishment as we went up the glass elevator, struck silent for the first time since meeting Jerry at the sight of my huge condominium.

"It looks like a place where money goes to die," Nat remarked, telling whatever she thought as usual. "I mean seriously. How much did this apartment cost?"

"You don't wanna know." I told them, struggling with the abandoned suitcases"Okay, this is level 12-right underneath Jack and I's. Nat and Dusty, this is your stop."

Dusty shrugged, taking her suitcase from me with a flick of her blonde head. "Thank the Lord. So Nat and I are gonna see y'all tomorrow?" she asked in her southern drawl, twirling the edge of her dress with a vacant finger, I nodded, sighing relief when Nat took her heavier bag from me. "Yep. You and Nat are going sightseeing with Milton and Julie while Shi talks out the problems with Jerry and Mika, and then we're all going out to dinner later. How does that sound?"

"Pretty damn good." Nat laughed, and the friends disembarked the elevator, leaving Shiloh and me alone.

"Are you absolutely positive Jack will like me?" Shi was worried, biting her lip and tapping her fingers on her side to the beat of some tune I didn't know, iPod earphones hanging out the pocket of her pants and her blazing red hair was a rioting, curling mass down her back as usual. Her brown green eyes rested on mine with a troubled glance, her only available hand clutching the handle of her suitcase like her life depended on it. "It would be really bad if he didn't. I mean, I'd still whup his ass, I'm just sayin', if its a nice one I don't particularly want to waste it."

I chuckled as the elevator opened once more onto our floor, leading the way to Jack and I's condo. Shiloh had a fear of meeting new people, even though she tried to hide it with a big personality and rambunctious tendencies, but by now I could read her like a book. She wanted Jack to like her because I liked him, and after meeting Frank last summer she was hoping that Jack wasn't a complete screw up like my supposed fiance.

"Jack's a complete doll, Shi. You'll like him, and he'll like you-I'm sure of it." I assured her, unlocking the front door and preparing for the onrush that were my babies.

Shi dropped to the floor with me and cooed over them as they went ballistic for seeing her again, but I could tell by the way she hugged Sunny that she was still worried.

"Ja-ack!" I called into the condo, smiling when I saw my brunette lover round the corner from the kitchen, a happy grin on his face that dropped the second he caught sight of me. "We've got company."

Jack had on a nice, v-neck white long sleeved shirt and jeans, a dirty rag in hands that I'm guessing was a byproduct of the delicious smell coming from the kitchen. I went up to him and threw my arms around his lithe waist, breathing in his musky smell and burying my face in his shirt.

What? I missed him!

His arms came around me as usual, but instead of being loving and strong, they were vicelike, crushing me to his chest, trying to pull me inside of him. Jack's face had gone pale, all the blood rushing out of it.

"Jack," I gasped. "Whats-" Twisting my head around as much as I could, my eyes widened at the sight of Shi.

My bestest friend in the whole wide world had a stricken look on her face, green-brown eyes tearing up, as white as Jack's, her hands trembling, totally ignoring the dogs at her feet, her head slowly shaking, getting faster and faster.

"No." she whispered. "No, no, no, _no_!"

_"Lea."_ my heart shuttered at Jack's voice, the wry easiness, the tenderness, the warmth and friendship gone as he stared at Shiloh._ "Lea, what the hell are you doing here, and why the hell are you fucking alive."_

Wait. Wait. Hold the phone.

Lea?

Jack's sister?

Oh. Shit.


	11. Jack is Broken

**Here are all your responses :) Thanks for waiting!**

******Kaecdc- Hahah I know right? Didn't see that coming!  
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******Guest #1- I hope this sort of relieves your cliffhanger BUT WAIT! I ended this chapter on a cliffhanger too :P  
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******Chey1235- Yup. You got it right. Your name is Cheyanne? That beautiful! I almost wrote a story with a girl who's name was Cheyenne ;) I saw the promo for the new episode and literally went crazy with happiness. I basically started having seizures on the ground and my siblings actually thought I was going crazy. I raped the repeat button. No lie. :P Brewer; Jack Brewer. X3  
**

******Guest #2- I did do Jilton in this chapter, so I hope I helped you with that. :D I unconsciously channeled a little bit of the Jilton cuteness, even though it's appearance is so brief its sad. :( Ah well. I had Jilton in the last chapter too.  
**

******Ilovesport1999- Hahah yeah you knew it! It was a little obvious with the letter that Kim wrote, but y'know…it was meant to be sort of surprising. I mean I failed last time I tried the 'surprise!' factor, remember? When I told you guys to guess who the person was that messed my Jackie up. New Jersey is freaking amazing! Lucky… :)  
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******Amy loves you- That's my reviewer! *wink* Lemon? OMW am I the only one who thinks of Lemon Breeland?...anyone? Oh. I guess I'm the only one who watched Heart of Dixie. *sighs* Oh, well. Lemon for, like, fanfiction lemons? :P  
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******JasmineLief- Your reviewer truly made my week. I was kind of going through an internal rough time-am going through it, forget that-and it really uplifted my spirit. I literally went around my house telling anyone who's listen about my drippy talented fingers and even though they laughed and shook their heads I kept saying it. It's the only one with them being older that you actually like? Yeah, I agree that there aren't a lot of superbly good 'older' Jack and Kim fanfics, but I have found some good ones…none of them really exceeded the 17/18 age limit, though. It makes me sad and happy when I find not-exactly-proffesional-grade fanfictions on this website, sad because people actually think its good and give it a ridiculous amount of praise and happy because so many people are reaching out of their comfort zone to go and put their writing out into the world. I never want to bash my fellow fanfiction writers (PLEASE GUYS I LOVE Y'ALL TO PIECES YOU ARE TOO SWEET FOR WORDS) but yeah. Not everyone was born to be a writer. :) Good luck to all those hopefuls, though! Writing only gets better with time.  
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******xMidnightHowls- I do believe that this chapter answers your review. ;)  
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******amandaxoxo- Oh goody! I tried really hard to make them lifelike and fit into the story! It's really hard sometimes, with OC characters.  
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******nclhrds1717- *points to user* This person is my legit fanfic baby. I would ABSOLUTELY adore it if she PM'ed me and helped me figure out how to use her as my beta fish... ;) Girl I understand, grades are everything (but coming from a procrastinator this is probably useless advice lol) Did you win your tournament? I sort of ladled on the OMG-ness in this one though…WHATS WRONG WITH YOU, LIL? GET IT TOGETHER, WOMAN! I tried for dialogue in this chapter too, so hope I did okay!**

* * *

**Shiloh**

My brother had clearly been busy in my…absence.

Jack had grown, that was clear. In the twelve years since I'd last physically seen him, he'd kept up his martial arts training, his once scrawny shoulders now densely muscled and powerful, wrapped around Kim like a protective iron cage. He'd beefed up immensely, if I was being honest, muscles I hadn't known existed strengthening his now an inch taller than me frame, still retaining the slim waist and panther like strength that he'd had when he was eleven. Jack's brown hair, the exact same shade of mine, was still long the way he liked it, but his current hairstyle was more attune to the man I hadn't gotten the chance to meet yet. Huge hands, now at least as big as my head, cradled my best friend like a precious flower, dark eyes, stripped of all innocence, fueled with such hate and suffering at the sight of me that I felt like a criminal.

I guess I was.

My little brother by a year hadn't known the reason why I left him. All he knew was that one day, Mom, Dad and I had gone for a short vacation without him, to 'go pick up his birthday present'. Mom and Dad came back, but I never did, leaving him to celebrate his birthday alone for the first time in eleven years. I hadn't half known why I had to leave Jack and Ryan either, if I was going to be fair. All I knew was what Mom and Dad had told me.

_Okay, sweetie. Mommy and Daddy are going to leave you here with Aunt Laine, okay? Some bad people that don't like Mommy and Daddy want to take you to a bad place because you're a girl, so staying with Auntie here is gonna keep you safe. Do you understand, Lilo?_

_I understand, Mommy. Is Jack coming with me?_

_No, honey. Jack's not coming. He's going to stay with us, but you can see him when the bad men are gone._

_Can I visit him?_

_No. I'm sorry Lilo, but this is the best thing for you right now-you'll see, living with Aunt Laine is going to be a lot of fun._

Some kind of fun that was. 'Aunt' Laine barely paid any attention to me. Uncle Logan was really the one who raised me after that. He went above and beyond the call of an adoptive parent, and he was reason that I still got to see Jack every year. On each birthday I spent with my Maryland aunt and uncle he took me on a shopping trip to New York. We'd shop together for about a day, and spend the next watching all the interviews and such Mom, Dad, and Jack had done while I was gone. He cried with me when the news broke that Ryan had died, laughed with me when Jack got his first pet, and held me when the news of Jack's multiple incarcerations broke. As the years past, Uncle Logan helped me deal with the fact that I might never see Jack again. My parents weren't even my parents by that time, so all I had worried about was Jack's well being and whether or not the men that Mom and Dad had claimed to be after me would discover me or not. Jack had paid the price for me freedom, and for that, I owed him everything. I still loved my brother. He was my baby brother for Christ's sake. Nothing that time could do would ever change that.

Apparently, though, Mom and Dad had told him something about me-and from the looks of it, it wasn't something good.

Taking a shuddering breath I wiped the moisture away from the corners of my eyes, standing up straight and looking Kim straight in the eye, ignoring Jack's question all together.

"Kim, darling, I'm sorry but I can't-" I took another breath. "I can't help you with Jerry and Mika. I'm clearly unwelcome here and there are some things…things with Jack that can't be solved right now." I swallowed the heartbreak and confusion in Kim's tea brown eyes as I scooped up my suitcase. "I think I'll just leave."

_"No."_

Jack's voice, rough and deep as it was, caught me off guard once again as I turned to face him, sweeping back my band and giving him a halfhearted glare. "Why not, Jack? Why can't I just pick up this suitcase and get the hell out of your life once again."

"Because I want to know why." My little brothers voice broke on that last word, Kim finally turning away from me to gently brush the bottom of Jack's eye, concern written all over her face. "I want to know why you left me. Why Mom and Dad told me you wanted to leave me, why you couldn't have come back when Ryan died, why I had to tell everyone that you died in some freak offshore accident when you were really just living barely two states away."

I can't take it. I can't do this to him, not when they could still be out there, waiting to pounce on him and me-"Jack I can't risk it!" I almost shouted at him, the words echoing off the walls of the condo. Kim had barely had her profile turned towards me, still cradling Jack's face and cooing soothing words to him. I could sense that the fact that her best friend was actually her boyfriends brother had shocked her so much that she just blocked it out of her system, refusing to face it, concentrating on the one most important thing in the room to her-Jack.

Damn. She must really love him.

Before I could bring myself to turn around and leave, Jack's voice stopped me yet again.

"Stay, Shiloh." His voice was pleading, eyes wide and hurting with that kicked puppy dog look that brought back so many memories of him that it made my chest hurt; "Stay, and we'll fight whatever evil that you're hiding from together. Don't leave me again, Shi. Please don't leave."

_Please Lilo? Will you stay with me?_

_"Jack,"_ Any words that were to follow his name broke into pieces, the world coming to a dead stop around me as I crumpled to my knees, sobbing and holding my face in my hands. The fact that my parents selfish act of saving their favorite child had hurt Jack as much as his eyes told me it did, ripped me apart.

_Jackson. My baby brother. When I left New York I changed my last name to Michaelson, just like his middle name. I always spoke of him in such a past tense way that even my friends knew that I'd lost a younger brother, I'd cried missing him so many nights it wasn't funny. He was my little cheese stick, my little brother, the spunky, funny, serious and dedicated little man that I had missed the chance of seeing grow up. _

_Oh, Jack, can you ever-_

"Shhh." Warm, strong arms were around me as I cried, strong, and shaking as they cradled me to their chest. "You're here. I'm here. It's gonna be okay. _It has to be okay_." Keening in grief I let my little brother hold me as I finally let out years of hurt as he came to terms with the fact that I still loved him, that I was still his sister and I hadn't wanted to leave him. Clutching Jack's shirt I cried, and continued crying even as Kim wrapped us both in her arms as Jack rocked and I broke down.

_You're here._

_I'm here._

_It's gonna be okay._

_It. HAS. To be okay._

* * *

**Milton**  
_"A long as you're around, I'll follow you. You won't ever, be alone. As long as you're around-"_

"Hey Kim,"

Grinning, the gangly ginger answered his phone, the hand not occupied with paying for Julie's undoubtedly loaded with sugar hotdog. He and his girlfriend were roaming the hub of their cities finest on a date, taking the opportunity to see who could ingest the most crap the fastest. Currently, Milton was winning-that Big Mac at McDonalds has really tipped the scales in his favor.

_"Aslwowie3wnfiwneirr Milto nasiwqowqe you tertieiro two there?"_

"Uh, Kim? I think there's static in your line."

_"Oh awieahrwir shit witwit it mustve been Shi and Jacks stupid tears aworwheurnwouer."_

"Call me back when you got it fixed, okay? Julie and I are on a date." His lady giggled at his goofy expression when the brilliant doctor shoved the iPhone in his pocket, lacing his twig like blazer clad arm with his girlfriends pale poof sleeved one. "So how was your job today? Did Vincent finally get his date with Cat?"

"No." Julie's face showed her disappointment as she bit into her not-a-blazing-canine-so-the-name-is-ridiculous, poofed pink, yet elegant accounting shirt and pencil skirt tugged on by the slight breeze, sprigs of not quite ponytail tamed light auburn hair breezing into her face.

"Vincent's second job is the only time that Cat can meet him, but its okay because-" and her eyes lit up at this "-because Cat decided that breakfast would be fine anyway." Her nose crinkled as she smiled and Milton felt a surge in his heart at just how beautiful his fiancée was.

"Do you ever find it funny that Jack and Kim actually helped us go on a date even though they'd never met at all?" Milton remarked, gazing at the passerby with a bored eye. "I mean they were fated to be together. The chances of something like this happening were extensively high for this kind of accidental occurrence."

"Yup," Julie agreed. "If Jack hadn't forced you to eat a café for once in your life, and if Kim hadn't stood me up by sleeping in, we never would've met, much let started dating."

"We owe a lot to those two." Milton concluded, kissing Julie on the cheek. "You're very special to me Julie, and without them, I wouldn't have met you."

"Meeting you was fate, becoming friends with you was destiny, and falling in love with you was accidental," Julie said with a quizzical smile on her face.

"That sounds like a quote," Milton supposed, brow crinkling. "Is that?"

Julie shrugged. "I think so, but I can't recall where I remember it from."

"No matter." The ginger curled his arm a little tighter around his girlfriends waist and pressed another chaste kiss to her forehead, fully aware of his abuse of the levels of PDA socially acceptable to New Yorkians. He didn't really care. This was _Julie_. They could, in cruder terms, suck it.

_"As long as you're around, I'll follow you. You won't ever be alone. As long as you're-"_

"Phone fixed, Kim?"

_"Milton, do you remember Lea?"_

"Yeah, Jack's dead twin sister. The only one who actually had the chance to meet her was Jerry-why, did something new come up about the circumstances of her death?"

"Milty is everything okay?"

"I think so. Give me a second, milady."

_"She's alive."_

"She's WHAT?"

_"Yeah-apparently it had something to do with some people Jack's parents had gotten on their bad side-? I don't know. All I know is that Shiloh-LEA is here, and its not pretty. She's been crying on an off for the better part of an hour and Jack's just not saying anything. After Shi's first breakdown he hasn't been able to do anything. He's been walking around the apartment with a blank look on his face and she's been staring at the same spot on the window for who knows how long. Milton, I know them. And when I say I know them, I __**know**__ them. Neither of them should act this way."_

"Okay. We'll be there in five minutes, keep an eye on both of them."

_"I'm trying. Jacks won't talk to me, and I'm worried that he's gonna escape and get stone cold fucking drunk somewhere. Shi might do something crazy like hurt herself, oh do get here soon, Milton!"_

"Just keep an eye on both of them! Keep Lea in the bedroom because there are less things in her to hurt herself with and make sure Jack stays out of the kitchen and bathroom. Don't let them see each other for right now-I think they're in shock."

"Okay-okay-I'm gonna call Jerry and Eddie. Please get here soon."

* * *

**Kim**

"Jerry, thank God you're here,"

Jack's bestest friend looked serious for the first time since I'd seen him, black eyes determined, brushing past me without a thought, already looking for his adopted brother. "Where's Jack?" he demanded, and for once I was struck by the irony of myself being in the same situation he had been the last time Jack had gotten himself in trouble, damn him.

"Living room." I told him rushedly, ushering in the rest of our little family-Grace, Eddie, Julie, Milton, and Mika, the last persons actually being present at Jerry's side, a fact that I barely had time to process.

All of us were freaking out, worried to death over Jack and what Shiloh-Lea, Goddammit, LEA's presence meant. The fact that I was dating-that I'd had sex with-my best friends brother was nothing short of a punch in the face, but that wasn't my main fear at the moment.

It had all been my fault.

If I hadn't pushed so hard for Sh-LEA to come to help Mika and Jerry Jack would never have gotten the shock of his life and they both could have been happy without me-

_Oh, gods. Mom was right. I do mess up everything._

Running a hand through my now out, frazzled hair I cast a crazed glance over the room-Jack, Jerry, and the rest were all congregated in the living room, Mika returning from the bedroom with a red eyed S-Lea in hand.

_They don't need me._

_JACK doesn't need me._

And with that heartbroken realization I grabbed the keys and busted out the door.

_I am worthless. I ruin everyone's live, nobody needs me, Mom was right, she was so right-_

_I don't deserve to be loved._

* * *

**KIM! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING!**

**Love y'all ;)**


	12. Jerry Has An Epiphany

**Hey guys! How is your almost spring break? Mine starts next Monday I'm so excited! AHH SPRING BREAKERS HERE I COME! Sorry I'm super psyched to see that movie. :P**

**I'm sorry I've been so MIA! Uploading half done things is horrible, I know, but I had to give y'all SOMETHING to go on. I'm not THAT cruel.**

**The story has around five chapters left, an epilogue may also be in the works, but you guys know there are a few unresolved storylines right now-Jerry & Mika, Lea (which is tied up here) and then for those who know the storyline I have bring up Frank and Kim's not-wedding, Jerry's leave of New York, and-oops, can't spoil that one thing in the romance of Kick. ;) Might be more than five chapter left now that I think about it…**

**SEASON THREE ON MONDAY OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG**

**You didn't leave a lot of reviews last time, which was sort of disappointing, but oh well I love y'all anyway. Longer reviews garner longer chapters-and for those who know, updates on **Business with Pleasure, Ain't No Sunshine, Song to You,** and a user requested one-shot written especially for them. Terms at the end of the chapter apply. :) Reviews are there too, but for now, enjoy! You deserve it ;)**

* * *

**Jerry**

Despite every fucked up issue that was between Mika and I, the fact that she was sitting beside me, holding my hand and supporting me was one of the strongest confidence boosters I'd ever experienced.

Forget wealth, standing, swag, or the easy confidence that I seemed to have.

Having her there made the difference.

We were all solemn, sitting in Kim's living room. Jack's hair was just as messy and uncouth as always, eyes finally focused after three hours of talking, hands clenched, Lea pianist's hands wrapped around his forearm. Both brunette's had accepted the sad facts of their separation and had come to terms with the evener solemner fact that there was nothing they could do to patch up most of the rifts between them. They were still brother and sister, yes-but they'd have to take it from the top. They were back to favorite foods, favorite movies, and what was the best thing to happen in their life-things that siblings knew because they had grown up together, a blessing that Jack and Lea had been deprived.

Shifting my concentration away from the counseling session Milton was conducting I glanced at the copper head beside me, earnest brown eyes trained on the man I'd just diverted my attention from. Curly hair in a high ponytail, white baby-doll tee, and low rise skinny jeans she was as beautiful as the day is long, lashes flush against her cheek as she laughed, smile shimmering-oh who was I kidding? I still loved Mika. Foreign exchange husband and all.

Said girl nudged my side, jolting me back to reality, eyes flashing with amusement. "Idiot stop staring at me with that look on your face," Mika hissed, a smile playing on the corners of her mouth. "Actually pay attention you lugnut!"

"I just want to guys to say something about yourselves real quick, okay? Something important to you, to draw your attention and emotions back to the I-don't-want-to-kill-you-on-sight road. How about…" Milton appeared to think for a moment, blue eyes concentrating, before his freshly off duty accountant girlfriend whispered something in his ear. "Perfect Jules," he grinned at her, then returned his attention to the siblings facing him. "Jack, Lea, say a little something about the most important person in your life at the moment. That should help move things along a little bit."

Lea gave a sigh, green-brown eyes searching the ceiling wearily, red-brown hair waving down her back. "I have a boyfriend," she admitted, the confession furrowing Jack's brows as a little bit of the defacto brother protectiveness kicked into gear. "His name is Mitch and…I don't know. He's my rock, my steadfast, my everything…he stuck with me through my \self harm days and helped coax me to enjoy life again. Mitch has been through everything with me…" Lea's eyes turned on Jack, heartsick, pleading-"I really want him to meet you. I think you'll like him."

Jack buried his face in his hands for a good long moment, hair falling forward, arms on his knees, taking in a trembling breath. I wrapped an arm around his shoulder and whispered encouragement, heart hurting at the sight of my best friend-fuck it, _my brother_-hurting and hurting _bad_. While Lea had been off growing up, I'd been the brother, the sibling that Jack had been denied and I was proud of that. Jack was as much of a part of me as my baby sister, as Milton was, as Eddie was, as my fucking cousins were-we were family.

Running his hands through the coffee colored mane that he called hair Jack sat up again, edges of his smiley eyes slightly reddened, the life in them dimmed, spurting like a candle in the wind. "There's this girl I met around four months ago," He finally admitted, clenching his hands in front of him, knuckles turning white. "She's gorgeous, sweet, and well," Jack laughed half-heartedly "really knows how to kick my ass. She quenched my alcohol flow, repaired my relationship with my ex and one of my best bro's, and gave me a reason to do something other than get into fights and get drunk." He shuddered a sigh. "I think," and he said this with disbelief, deep eyes shocked, "I think I love her. And not just love her-I'm _in love_ with her. I want to be with her for the rest of my life-and I can't believe I haven't told her yet."

Jack turned to me, life flickering in his eyes for the first time in forty eight hours, determined. "Jerry, where is Kim?" he said evenly, pushing himself up. "I want to see her."

Lea stood up with a sigh, murmured "I still can't believe she's dating my _brother_," and proceeded into Kim and Jack's room, looking for her best friend. "Kim? Kim darling where are you?"

"Kim?" Julie entered the foyer, worry lines starting to appear above her forehead.

"Kimberly!" Eddie ventured into the kitchen, on guard for the smack that usually came with the utterance of that name.

"Kimm-AY!" Grace shouted, throwing open the doors to one of the condo's few guest rooms. "Where are you?!"

I stood up next to Jack, patting him on the back once more-_Thank God he's gonna be OK_-and turned to my penny, a dreading feeling in the pit of my stomach. "Mika when's the last time you saw Kim?"

She scrunched up her face and for a moment I focused on how cute she looked-_dammit, Jerry! Focus! Kim's missing!?_-before she answered. "Just as I was coming in," Mika said slowly, clutching my arm, worry flashing in her eyes as she faced me. "Please tell me you saw her after that!"

"Oh shit." Lea covered her mouth quickly, leaning on Jack's newly offered arm. "Kim-you guys don't know this but Kim's mom is very abusive-she usually called Kim names and told her how useless she was in comparison to Jessa-that's one of the reasons why she moved out but-oh God. Did anyone say anything harsh to her coming in?! I need to fucking know!"

All of us racked our brains as Lea got steadily even more stressed, Jack still a bit unstable, eyes searching for his blonde girlfriend-

And for once in my life, I had a genuine epiphany.

_Who would've thought, right?_

"Okay guys think about it-we didn't need Kim before this right?"

Eddie popped back in the room, eating a banana. "Right," he answered slowly as the rest of the crew entered the room.

"And we haven't paid attention to her for like two hours right?"

"Right," Grace said puzzlingly. "But what does that have to do with-"

"Guys _she hasn't been needed! We didn't need her!_" I said more excitedly, starting to pace as the thoughts came faster and faster. "_She didn't feel needed-and then there's the whole fucking fact that she brought Lea and Jack back together! She must think its her fault!"_

"Holy_ shit_, Jerry, you're right." Jack said brokenly, disbelievingly. "Julie! Did she take the keys?"

Julie disappeared into the foyer, returning with her face noticeably pale. "No keys," she whispered, and the room broke into hell.

* * *

**Jack**

_Kim sweetheart where are you I need you darling why'd you go-_

"Jack and I will take Times Square, Grace, you and Eddie take uptown, and Julie, you, Mika, and Milton take downtown Manhattan. I've got a police tap I've had for months connected right to my cellphone-here Penny, you take it. Yeah, I know I was using it for your never really husband but they might've reported an accident so get to it! Come on people, GO GO GO!"

_Beautiful why did you go I love you yes I love you and I swore I'd never love again please don't get into trouble-_

_Kim I've always needed you I just never knew it please don't go off into the city like this I can't have someone leave me not again-_

* * *

**Kim**

The road in front of me was blurrier than I remembered, grass melding with concrete, the red and white lights of the cars in front of me bleeding into the LED screens on the buildings of inner Times Square, my tears mixing with the rain as it fell in droves. The scotch glass beside me was sloshing all over the interior of my car but I didn't really care, or notice, the alcohol that I'd taken in my system at the Wasabi Wine still dulling all my senses.

_Kim what did I tell you about posing for magazines? They only take pictures of you because they want your sister-Jessa is so much more beautiful than you._

What was it Jack had said about drunk driving? Something like_-babe I'm a professional_? And _don't try this at home_? Oh well. If he ever wanted to see me again I'd ask.

_Kimberly you do realize you are the ugly duckling of our family, right? It's a wonder that we put you in the family picture, isn't it? That hair and those dreadfully plain eyes-_

Hm. The lights are so pretty. Kind of like Jack's eyes, the way the glimmer and sparkle, I think. I wonder if my eyes glimmer and sparkle like that.

_Why can't you be more like your sister, Kim? Even Frank admits it. God I'm so happy he's taking you off our hands._

The music coming from the radio is so loud…why can't it play music soft and lovely? Like when Jack played that song that he taught me later…how did it go? Oh yeah-_love me tender, love me sweet, all my dreams fulfilled_…Oh shoot. That's not it. I wonder if he really likes to sing?

_Can't you just die, Kim? Just fucking die so the world never has to see the abomination of a bitch that I've created Oh God I knew that a third child was SUCH a bad idea._

That one car on the left seems awfully close, maybe they want to say hi-?

**CRASH**

* * *

**AHAHAH! DIDN'T SEE THAT ONE COMING, DIDYA? JACK AND KIM WERE SUPPOSED TO HAVE SMOOTH SAILING, RIGHT? YOU GUESSED WRONG!**

**I feel like Jerry when something makes sense to him. :P WOOO!**

**Reviews:**

**Ilovesports1999- I know I never give our gang a break. :) Season 3 is starting on Monday and I am SO STOKED it's unbelievable. Rant is up there ^ but thanks! I'm trying to let it be complicated :D**

**Ilovekick4ever1997-I know you reviewed only chappie 1 but I had to reply anyway. X) Yeah The Clash of the Titans was my first favorite episode if that makes any sense.. O_o I'm so weird.**

**September14Fall-What up girl! How you been? Been missing you on the review section lately… :) I MISSED YOU! Drama, drama, drama my play is in a week so stoked. :D**

**xxxiloveleohowardxx-A lot of love-ly users I see. :P Okay Okay here it is! *hugs you cuz I want to***

**footballprincess-Well as you saw I kinda put her in a car accident…**

**TERMS FOR ONE-SHOT IN THE PROMO FOR THE NEXT CHAPTER! GO MY LOVELIES GO!**


	13. Phoebe Gives Jack a Heart

"Jack I'm really, _really_ tired of seeing you look like hell, man."

Eddie's matter of fact statement caused his girlfriend to smack him and mutter angrily but I understood what he meant. My poor friend looked even worse, if possible, than he did when he showed up broken and bleeding at my door.  
As one of his best friends the sight of him at the crash site, cradling Kim's battered body and screaming to the heavens literally broke my heart. His cries still echoed through my mind, despite Julie's comforting hand in mine and equally lovely kisses, bless her.

* * *

_"NO! GOD, YOU CAN'T DO THIS TO ME! SHE'S ALL I'VE GOT LEFT IN THIS WORLD! YOU CAN'T TAKE HER FROM ME, SHE IS MY FUCKING EVERYTHING DO YOU HEAR ME!"_

* * *

His hair was in a raggedly uncouth mess, a five o'clock shadow dotted on his strong jawline, eyes perpetually hidden by his ever present hinge. A grey t-shirt, sprinkled liberally with holes, rested on his torso, black sweatpants on his legs, ratty Vans on his feet. His face was streaked with long cuts, the self harm from the only weapon we couldn't physically take from him, his nails. Jack's leather jacket hung on his powerful shoulders like a pool of dark cloud and the nurses were becoming very disturbed as the stack of beer bottles at his feet, supplied by Jerry, became big enough for Grace and Kim's two year old niece to build a tiny fort with.

* * *

_"IF YOU'RE GONNA TAKE HER FROM ME I MIGHT AS WELL LEAVE TO! I'LL KILL MYSELF IF YOU KILL HER, DO YOU HEAR ME? WITHOUT HER LIFE ISN'T WORTH LIVING! "_

* * *

Speaking of which, Little Phoebe had been a lifesaver in the hospital waiting room. While Kim got ripped out of Jack's arms and taken to ICU for a life and death surgery, her sugar brown eyes, the same shade as Kim's, and thick, braided black hair caught Jack's attention. Grace and Kim typically shared the responsibility of taking care of Kim's cousin/Grace's niece and with no where else to stay she had to come to the hospital with them. Lea was playing quietly with her while Jack looked on, hands trembling, chest heaving with a breath that seemed like pain for him to take.

* * *

"GODDAMMIT, GOD! TAKE ME INSTEAD, I BEG OF YOU! TAKE ME INSTEAD…"

* * *

Now that I thought about it, that may be the reason that Jack wasn't unconscious in an alley somewhere. That little girl was like seeing a slightly altered version of what could be he and Kim's first child together-

Damn.

Kim better be okay, or we were going to have a strong suicide on our hands.

* * *

**Jack**

_"Dr. Krupnick?"_

The world was dull around me.

_"Dr. Krupnick, we need to speak with you about Ms. Crawford."_

Color didn't exist.

There was black and there was white, and the little grey in between was that little girl but-

There was no Kim.

And without Kim there was no rainbow.

The only red existed in the brightness of her lipstick, the freshness of her blood that day when she scraped her knee skateboarding with me, the satin of her covers. The only orange existed in the dullest, most subtle curls in her hair, the sunlight on her figure, the marshmallows in her Lucky Charms. The only yellow existed in the bright gold of her glorious, ever so magnificent hair, the way Sunny's fur shines when she ran her fingers through it, the warmth she had brought into my life. The only green existed in her ever present green tea scent, the sexy green Leprechaun outfit she'd worn for St. Patrick's, the emerald ring of her grandmothers, always turning around her finger when she was nervous. The only blue existed in the recesses of her eyes, of the sky when it was brilliant and she was cuddled in my arms, of the rain when is was foggy and she made me dance with her. The only purple existed in the twilight of the morning when she left to go to work, the hue of her countertops, and her absolute favorite pair of sunglasses.

Where.

Is.

My.

_KIM_.

"Jack?"

Jerry's voice startled me out of my stupor, his face worried and slightly blurred in a dizzying mix of black and white.

"Jack you okay?"

I glared at him.

"Okay stupid question."

He sighed and ran a hand through his curly hair, the small hand wrapped around his forearm that finally caused me to notice the other people in the room. Vaguely they came into focus-Eddie, in a t-shirt and jeans for once in his life, leaning on Grace's shoulder as she cooed to him reassuringly, Lea with her head on her hands, praying, a notion I fuzzily recognized, Julie collecting the now sleeping child onto her shoulder, and lastly Milton, joining Jerry in what I'd just dubbed the squat fest at me feet.

Squat away, fuckers.

"Jack I need to know if you're sober now." Milton asked me gently, hand on my opposite shoulder. "The nurses and the doctors are worried that you could jeopardize Kim-

_KIM_

-or any of the other patients if you're not." He grimaced wrily in a poor example of humor. "And lets face it, that beer castle Phoebe had going wasn't a good indication."

I rubbed my face, combed my hands through my hair, blinked once more.  
"It's been a week since Kim got put in place." I said croakily, squinting in blurry anger as the rest of my family reacted to my voice being heard for the first time since we saw Kim after…._that_. "A bloody fucking week and yes I'm fucking sober. These-" I gestured hazily to the empty cans round my feet. "I only brought back for the little one to play with. How the hell is my baby?"

"Jackeroo, my friend, you can barely focus on us." Jerry sounded skeptical. "How the hell are we supposed to think that you're sober?"

"Guys?" Eddie ambled closer to us with girlfriend and Lea in tow. Liquid glistened on Lilo's cheeks and I gave myself a half second away from worrying about Kim to wonder what it was before digging my nails into my right arm, agitating the raw skin there. "Grace, Lea, and I have been staying with Jack all week."  
An arm wrapped itself around my waist, disturbing the squat party and bringing me to my wobbly feet. "Jack hasn't slept in a week." My sister said gently, brushing a strand away from my face. "He hasn't eaten and barely drank. We counted it a small victory that Phoebe fed him that half of her granola bar. And whenever we manage to sleep he's there when we come back, but…we can tell he's been out the house.

"Why are you doing this, man?" Milton looked furious and for another half a second I wondered why, then changed position and dug my nails in even rougher in my upper arm. Against my will my cheek twitched and Milton frowned. "Jack what the heck are you doing." He said slowly. "What are you doing to yourself."

I raised my head and met his blue eyes with my own ravaged brown ones, the white of my eyes streaked with red, the whites of his, well, white. "How. Is. My. Baby." I repeated slowly and the doctor sighed, scrubbing the wrinkle lines on his forehead with his hands.

"She's been out of ICU long enough for one visit." He admitted and instantly I attempted to surge out of the circle of family I was surrounded in.  
_Kim-  
Kim-  
Oh my God, baby, I'm coming-_

"JACKASS. Hold still man." Milton grunted, using the combined strength of well, everyone to pull me back into their group, away from whatever prying eyes might be at the hospital at 3 o'clock in the morning on a Monday night. Hypothetically. "She suffered a long rip on the skin of her side, a bad concussion, and needs a splint on her hand for at least a month because she tore some of the tendons in it. The scar on her side will never go away but they managed to repair the damage done to her vital organs. She's been in and out of consciousness for the past 24 hours so they've just decided to let someone see her." Milton clenched his hands, digging the slender digits into the ridges of my shoulder and pressed his forehead to mine, forcing me to pay attention. "Jack this is your one chance," he hissed. "You mess this up and you'll be kicked out of the hospital. You get it?"

I stared steadily back at the skinny ginger, determination in all the planes of my face. "I get it." I got out through clenched teeth. "Now can I see her?"

Milton's eyes darted at my face for a second longer before he forced himself to have a deep breath and made him fingers lose their hold on my shoulders, turning to one of the nurses, an uncertain look on her pretty face. "Nurse Jones, please take Mister Brewer to see Miss Crawford." He told her briefly, watching my face. "I'll be accompanying him as a consultant doctor." His eyes flickered briefly back to the rest of them. "Jack's the closest thing Kim's got to family in this circumstance…you guys can come later okay?" They regretfully drew back, Jerry squeezing my shoulder in assurance.

_It's okay baby, I'm coming, Jack's coming…  
_

* * *

**Milton**

Jack figure trembled as he walked in front of me, barely restraining himself from letting himself go and just throwing open every last door in the hospital to find Kim. He was incredibly torn up about Kim but I couldn't just give the guy free run of the hospital. I mean, I did have a doctorate, I can't just do that.

"Ms. Crawford in here," The slim African American nurse opened the door to a private room and Jack's control snapped. He surged through the door like a force of nature and crumpled on the white hospital bed containing the blonde that everyone had been concerned about for so long. Chest heaving he lifted his head and for the first time in what had seemed like forever, laid eyes on the only person he truly loved.

* * *

**Kim**

The world was fuzzy.

Fuzzy and white, all together too fucking white.

All I remember was whiteness and pain and blue masks and more pain, all consuming pain, blinding pain, and then blessed relief. Blessed, blessed relief.

The world was still fuzzy, though.

_Jack_.

My heart quickened its pace a little, evidenced by the heightened beeping of the machine beside my bed. Oh. I'm in a hospital. Yippee damn skippy. I was in an accident wasn't I? I think I remember tequila-but why? Why would I do something like that-

Oh. Right. He doesn't need me.

My heart slowed again, deflating as the realization that Jack, my Jack, _my freaking Jackass_, didn't need me and for a moment I wished for the pain. I wished for something to keep me alive but the core reason that I existed had gone from me.

I distantly heard nurses running towards my room, the frustrated voice of someone that seemed familiar, and then the lights weren't white anymore but red, blood red. I welcomed the pain and the suffering and willed my heart to slow its beating slower, effortlessly slower.

And then I heard it.

His voice.

_"KIM!"_

It was screaming, desperate, like hope had just been given and then snatched cruelly away, raw and bleeding and just as broken as my heart.

_"KIM! IT'S ME! ITS JACK, YOUR JACKASS! PLEASE DON'T LEAVE ME!"  
_

I heard other voices, protesting, worried.

My heart picked up again.

I had heard his voice.

_"WAIT! She's responding to me, oh God she's actually responding, Milton! Milton for the love of God let me stay she's responding to my voice she's not gone yet Milton Fucking Krupnick, shit man let me-"_

More voices, doubtful, unsure, the familiar voice soothing, worried.

_"Kim."_

A hand, warm, loving, large, and all his covered my own cold pale ones, a face, torn and anguished, facing me desperately.

_"Remember me? It's Jack. Jack Brewer. Yeah I know that we really shouldn't be seeing other and I shouldn't be here with you-in public-with the paparazzi clogging up the waiting room outside. I don't really care though, beautiful. I'm your Jackass, remember? I love you. I love you so much it hurts, it fucking hurts, and seeing you like this is tearing me up."_

My heart beat slowly sped up until it had reached normal, healthy speed. The whiteness began to recede and sighs, of relief and thanksgiving, filled the room.

_"Damn. Now I realize what it was like to see me like that that day when I decided to rip up my back. Or you know, get beat up. Or something stupid like that, I don't know, the details are fuzzy. What I do remember is your beautiful, worried face, lit up by the glow of the lamp, as flabbergasting as an angels and yes I did just say flabbergasting."_

Colors. I saw colors now. The rainbow of the nurses uniform, and redness of Milton's shirt, the brownness, oh the RIGHTNESS of the coffee of his hair.

_"Remember, beautiful? Remember the moonlight walks and the way I must've looked on the rooftop when we first met and the way that your hair swayed in the wind-remember the dog store and the first time we did it and the burlesque club and your fucking cousin, remember? You can't do this. You can't just leave me alone like this. Dammit Kim. I love you. I love and I swear to God that if I can't have you, then death can't either."_

Murmurs rose in the room, a leather jacket, warm from his body, draped across my legs.

_"I'll kill myself with you if you go, Kim. Death doesn't get you, if you decide to go with him I swear I'll drag myself down with you so I can protect you from him. I need you, Kim. I really, really need you. The doctors say there's no medical way for me to give you my own life."_

He chuckled wryly and a flashback of the first time I heard that chuckle overwhelmed and warmed me. The solidness of the hospital bed, the jumping of the heart monitor, the smooth texture of his skin.

_"Thats it. Thats it, beautiful. Come back to us. Come back to ME."_

Blinking twice, the world came into focus in a split second and then he was there, he was everywhere, kissing my hands and filling the room with his prescence, warm lips against the damages skin of my palm, endless eyes filled with tears.

"You came back." He whispered and I smiled, really smiled at him, and then the world fell back into place. I tentatively reached up a hand and cradled his face, the love for him that saved me welling up in my chest as he closed his eyes and pressed his torn skin to my hand.

"Jack?" I murmured. "Don't hurt yourself anymore, okay?"

"Okay." He leaned up and pressed his forehead gently, cautiously against mine.

"Thank you God. Okay. Okay."

His lips found mine and then I felt life start to trickle back into me, life from his lips and his hands and just HIM. Jack was back. He needed me and he was mine and that was all I needed.

The door slammed open and I ignored it, kissing my love one last time, and then the world returned to pain when Jack was ripped away from me.

My father, eyes wide and filled with rage, looking like the devil himself in a business suit, was staring with curled, vengeful lip at Jack, at the nurses, at Milton.

"What. Have. You. Done?" He shouted at me and then, blissfully, I was in Jack's arms, and all was right again. My father, Milton, even Jack faded away in my loves cocoon of warmth and I drifted to sleep as easily as a feather on the wind.  
Sleep. Sleep, beautiful. I've got you-nothing can ever hurt you again.

**So yeah I dropped a bomb. :P Sorry for the wait! I'll post review responses later, love y'all!  
**

**Lil**


	14. Kim Is Swept Up

**WARNING. SOME SCENES CONTAIN DIRECT REFRENCES TO AND BRIEFLY TOUCHED ON SEXY TIMES. IF YOU WISH TO AVOID THEM SKIP READ ONLY THE FIRST, SECOND, FOURTH, AND FIFTH SECTIONS OF TEXT.**

**IF YOU'RE A PERV OR DON'T CARE, READ THE WHOLE DELICIOUSLY SEXY THING. ENJOY :) (authors note at bottom)**

* * *

**~flashback~**

_Kim: Babe could you pick me up from work? Gia needs a ride home and I volunteered the truck._

_Jack: Do you expressively mind what vehicle I pick you up in, beautiful? :P_

_Kim: Should I be scared? :)_

_Jack: No. You can just barely handle the sexiness. :D_

* * *

_"Wow. So this is where you work."_

_Smiling at Kim I weaved my way through the small army of photographers, stylists, makeup artists, and light technicians, feeling dreadfully out of place in the medium sized studio. My black v-neck t-shirt, jeans, blue Adidas sneakers and leather jacket looked like it belonged in an entirely different universe than the one that my girlfriend worked in._

_So my girl was a model._

_Figures, right?_

_You can't be THAT beautiful and not have someone notice._

_Dammit._

_Speak of the angel she smiled at me, eyes twinkling at my approach, waving away the people surrounding her to try to get to me. Her gorgeous blond hair was French braided into pigtails, make up soft and light but heavy on the lids, even sexier body clothed in a blazing red checked button down and booty shorts, obviously meant to tempt me. I mean seriously-her shirt was tied up 'fashionably' halfway down her waist. A good bit of her waist-MY waist hypothetically speaking-was showing and dammit that stretch of skin was already doing things to me that I didn't want to admit._

_Kim jumped at me and I caught her easily, her body sliding down until my strong arms were wrapped underneath her ass at chest level, head a good bit higher than mine own, toes curled and knees bent, me spinning her around once, twice._

_Oh shit._

_This reaaalllyy isn't a good position right now._

_Little Jack is getting excited and in public? At her job? Not the best thing to do._

_"Hello beautiful," I whispered to her, allowing her body to slide along my own until my arms were wrapped around her waist, Kim standing on tiptoe on the tips of my shoes._

_Kim grinned at me, wrapping her own arms around my neck, forehead pressing against my own. "Hey handsome." She murmured back, hands digging in the thick long hair at the nape of my head. I groaned and she giggled, knowing full well what she was doing to me before Kim'd even kissed me._

_"Stop being so damn sexy!" I moaned at her and Kim laughed full out, nuzzling me and teasing me with her lips, holding her addicting kiss just out of reach, plush lips skimming their way along my cheek._

_"But I thought you liked me being sexy," she said under her breath and I gave into temptation, pushing my head into hers, crushing her lips to mine. Kim responded with a smirk, battling me for domination for a minute before pulling back to gasp for air. "Guys, this is my boyfriend Jack!" She called out to the curious people around us, stepping off my toes while I one arm wrapped her and pressed a softer, chaste kiss to her forehead to hopefully stop the blood rushing to my groin._

* * *

_Kim rattled off the names of her growing group of staff, none of which I caught, and then bid goodbye, sashaying off to the changing rooms to put back on regular clothes._

_Hour later her naked back pressed into the bed, arms wrapped around the rippling muscles in my arms, legs clutching onto my waist, curls spilling across the brown silk of her bed sheets, skin pressing against skin._

_"Jack-" I cut her off with another frenzied kiss to her lips, causing moans instead of words to erupt from her mouth as I had hoped. _

_"Just-" kiss "Enjoy-" kiss "Kimmy-" I placed open mouth kisses along the edges of her jaw and she gasped, nails digging into the muscles of the ridge of my spine, chest arching to meet mine. "Don't ever let me pick you up from work again, Kimmy," I muttered into the curve of her neck, relishing the desperate little shrieks she emitted each time I hit home. "You're just too damn sexy."_

* * *

**Jack**

"Uh, Jack? Jackster?"

Jerry snapped his finger in front of his best friends dazed face, slightly worried because A) Jack hadn't responded to Kim's fathers question B) There was a rising tent in the dudes pants and C) This meeting was actually sort of important so Jack needed to actually listen.

Jack snapped out of the vivid memory playing in front of his eyes and ran a self satisfied hand through his mane of hair, arms languid over the back of the swivel chair, blue plaid button down and jeans shorts as easy as his attitude had been the entire meeting. The very knowledge that Kim was alive, and not only alive but recovering rapidly, had done wonders for his health, attitude, and appearance. The dark circles had faded from under the amber eyes, scratch wound on his cheek faded into red scars, soreness from not sleeping gone. About the only soreness that remained was on the ridge of his back, the new tattoo he'd gotten only a few days old.

Yeah.

He was feeling so good he got another tattoo _without _being messed up.

"Sorry man." Jack chuckled and pushed the Ray Bans farther up his head, smirking at the father of his girlfriend/lover/confidante/what the hell EVERYTHING, totally ignoring the gravity of the situation.

Kim's dad was mad.

Like literally mad and enraged at the same time.

They'd had to call in hospital security to drag him out of Kim's room after she'd fallen asleep, Milton using his doctor manage to pen it down as stress after finding out his daughter was in an accident, having him put in a secure room for about a week to cope. No one really suspected anything at the hospital, which was a relief, but poor Jerry had been regulated to babysitting duty. Jim Crawford was not to call, text, tweet, Facebook, instagram, email, or yell out the window anything at all. He was just to sit and fume until everything had been calmed down enough to deal with him.

Jack could see a little bit of Kim in her dad. She had his nose and eyes, even a little of the mans blonde brown hair, but the steel, concealed rage, and harshness of his figure and eyes was entire Jim's own. The multi-billionaire was still in the grey suit that he'd been locked up in and his ice blue eyes were hard and calculating.

"Mr. Brewer, I will not just sit here and let my daughter date the likes of _you_." He hissed, pointing at him with the most offensive finger on his person. "I won't let this scandal break to the presses. And why didn't you answer my question before? How long has this been going on? How far are you actually in this? And how did you keep it quiet for so long?"

"That actually hasn't been too hard, Mr. Crawford." Eddie, the designated lawyer, leaned forward in his seat, dark brown eyes focused and intense. Eddie, Jerry, and Jack were the only ones meeting with the mogul, Mika, Lea, and Julie keeping Kim company while she packed to get ready for the journey home and Milton was making sure Kim had her meds and her business affairs were all taken care of. Bobby Wasabi, Jack and Joan's friend as well as owner of the Wasabi Wine bar chain had pulled through when Joan had called in a favor, keeping the reporters away and completely unaware of what was going on inside St. Luke Roosevelt Hospital. Joan had done her part as well, stirring up the petty crime district to try to keep the reporters and news stations busy, with Rudy calling in his celebrity connections for tabloid control and Phil (of the Philimora) just attempted to help out when he could. Phil was crap at social functions. It was a wonder his casino was so popular.

"Our connections have kept this whole hospital fiasco under wraps but," Eddie shrugged. "Both Jack and Kim are willing to come out about their relationship. As to you other question, about half a year."

"And to your other question," Jack smirked and leaned forward on the table. "You don't even want to know."

Jim let out a small cry and placed his fingers to his temples. "Damn you kids and those fucking hormones." He muttered to himself.

The Spaniard by Jack's right placed a hand over his mouth and laughed, softer and then so loud that all three men turned to look at him. "What, yo?" Jerry chuckled, folding his arms across his chest. "It's just funny that Kim's getting more action than her dad every did and he's cursing her hormones." He paused and then winced. "Oh shit. That's a disturbing picture."

"Brewer is there anything you can do to continue to keep this under wraps?" The elder Crawford glared at him. "This will shatter the company's image. I can't just let this hit the presses."

"Too bad." Jack shrugged with derision. "Look, I'll be nice because I'm dating your daughter and," he gave a fake wince and lifted his hands in defeat "I never asked your permission. We'll give you the rest of the month to come to a decision about what you want to do with this. Eddie, Kim, and I will keep this out of the tabloid until then. Our relationship will remain a secret but just so you know," And at this he stood up, followed by a grinning Jerry. "Just because it's a secret doesn't mean it ain't real. See you Ed," Cue dramatic exit.

Jim turned to the lawyer next to him and asked, in a moment of exasperation "Is he always this frustrating?"

The cultured African American man sighed, reaching up and loosening his royal purple tie. "You have no idea."

* * *

**Lea**

"Hey babe you ready to go?"

My little brother sauntered in the hospital room like he owned the place, arms spread wide, a happy grin on his face. All the evidence anyone could have needed for his love for my best friend was splayed across his face like a banner and my heart swelled a little at having the two people who'd become two of the most important people in my life so close and so happy together. Like me and Mitch when we got back together after a long separation…like this one.

Kim smiled and carefully hopped off the hospital bed, big college sweatshirt (Jack's of course) and jean capri's accentuating her gorgeous, if damaged figure. A large swath of gauze was wrapped around Kim's waist to hold the small stitches on her side wound together, her hand wrapped up in the same fashion, a small band aid where her bang met her forehead. She was worse for the wear but finally happy.

Jack swooped her up carefully in his arms and they kissed, something that never got less disgustingly adorable with time.

"Ready and waiting," The blonde sang back and then laughed with delight when her boyfriend smoothly and carefully picked her up bridal style, her flip flopped feet and legs from the knees down hanging over his right arm, Kim's own arms wrapped around his neck, face buried, with a brilliant smile, in his neck.

"Isn't he perfect, Lilo?" She called back to me as he headed for the door carrying her like the precious cargo she was. Chuckling, I slung my arm in Mika's and collected one of Kim's bags with the other.

"Perfectly cheesy," I responded back and all four of us laughed.

My heart twinged at the thought of having to tell the happy couple how soon I'd have to leave them and return to Maryland with the neglected friends I've brought with me but I resolved to let them rest for the rest of the day. Bad news could wait for at least a day.

* * *

**Kim**

My side still hurt like hell but to be in Jack's arms again was like a dream come true.

A dream that could've been wetter, sure, but a dream nonetheless.

"Yay! We're home!" I cheered as he carried me over the threshold, followed my girlfriends who wisely dropped my bags at the door and left. The house was blessedly quiet because the babies were still at the dog hotel and I let out a sigh of happiness.

Home sweet home.

With the hubby. (You should see me winking at this point. Dontcha wish your boyfriend was hot like mine, dontcha…I said dontcha…) Said hubby placed me in the middle of our wide, freshly made (ooo, are those white silk sheets? Aw, he changed them for me? Such a sweetheart, my Jackass is) bed, scooting me up so my head rested on the plush pillows. He crawled up so my body was in between his legs and leaned on his elbows on either side of my head, pressing kisses up the side of my neck.

"You know Kim, after you're accident and all…" his tongue flicked a particularly sensitive (and he knows it damn him) part of the underside of my jaw and I gave a small gasp. "Don't get me wrong you scared me to death don't you EVER" His head came up to press his forehead gently against mine, puppy dog eyes wide, pleading, and desperately firm. "EVER do that to me again. Ever. You are beautiful and wonderful and fucking perfect. You're a million times better than that bitch of a sister you've got and I'm so lucky to have you sometimes I think I'm dreaming." His breath warming the tip of my nose I widened my eyes and nodded really hard, anything to have those sinful lips back on my skin.

Lord. When one is kept in a tiny bed with nothing but 90210, 2 And A Half Men, and 2 Broke Girls showing repetitively one really gets a hankering for a bed partner who unfortunately wasn't there to soothe your hunger. I feel like a female wolf in heat, dammit.

"Good." He placed a wet, plush kiss against my lips and I melted a little inside. "Anyway," my Jackass continued, lowering his head to kiss his way from the left side of my clavicle to the right. "I got to thinking that our time together may or may not be number. So I figured," his naughty tongue laved a little bit at the indentation at the center of my clavicle and I let out a moan that would've shamed the worst slut, my hands latching onto the blades of my boyfriends shoulders from underneath, frantically scrabbling to rip off the damn shirt he had on. "Maybe we should do something other than sex with our time."

I groaned. "Like what, idiot!" I angrily growled at him, frustrated with the inability of the shirt to rip off easily. "What the hell is better than sex when I'm feeling so horny I think I'm turning into a she devil?!"

Jack chuckled and pressed a passionate kiss my lips, capturing the lower one gently in his teeth. "Like making love," he whispered. "You're delicate right now. More delicate than you," he nuzzled me softly and I whimpered. "Ms. Tough Girl are willing to admit so let me," Jack tugged on the edge of my sweatshirt, knowing full well I had nothing on underneath it, before skating up the sides of my waist. "Worship you."

"Okay, fine, whatever," I answered desperately, and fisted my nailed hands on the front of his shirt, tearing with all the strength I had.

"Kimmy, that was a new shirt," Jack began to complain but I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed the poor man senseless, his own fingers, lean and blazing as always, tearing the sweatshirt off my back in much the same way. My fingertips began to massage the muscles of the ridge of his shoulder but I halted when he cut off the kiss to wince slightly.

"Jack you promised you wouldn't do anything to yourself." I demanded, filled with righteous anger as I cradled my equally topless lovers face with my hands.

He sighed and kissed the shell of my ear. "It's just a new tattoo, beautiful," he murmured into it, my eyes closing briefly before I snapped them open.

"Can I see it?" I whispered to the curve of his neck and wordlessly Jack reneged, allowing me to wrap my arms around his neck, skirting the ridge of his shoulders, to pull my body up, pressing my breasts and upper body against his in an attempt to read the tattoo. "'Love is a smoke made with the fume of sighs,'" I read out breathily against his back, Jack himself groaning as I accidentally teased him the same way he'd teased me. "Is that a line from Shakespeare?"

I thumped carefully back in between Jack's arms and he pressed a kiss to my temple, traveling down the center of my face. "Yes, from Shakespeare," he managed to eke out between kisses and I moaned, clutching him to me.

"Fantastic," I breathed out quickly. "Now shut up and kiss me you idiot!"

* * *

**So here's some lemony fluff.**

**HAPPY YOU PERVS? People have been wanting me to do smut for some time SO EAT THIS AND BE HAPPY YOU SEX SLUTS. I mean that in a nice way because I'm pretty sure that half of my favorite stories are rated M. I LET OUT MY INNER SLUT ON YOU OH LORD DON'T KILL ME.**

**LONG AWAITED REVIEWER ANSWERS (and I did all of them. every last fucking one. I HOPE YOU'RE HAPPY. and keep reviewing, okay lovelies? :P )**

**September14Fall: Uber sorry won't happen again. :) And that was at the beginning of April-Peter Pan.**

**Ilovesports1999: I'm happy when you're happy lol**

**xxxShiningStar23xxx/Swaggiegirl23: Hey! I fixed it, did I not? :P And I gave it a small, if insignificant, chat, soooo…and whats up with the schizophrenia, girl?**

**Inkling13: I replied to you in private ;)**

**BurkelyDuffieldLover: Thank you!**

**KarateGirl77: Thanks *hugz***

**Elevate24: GAH. STOP IT. THE COMPLIMENTS. I CAN'T STAND IT.**

**All For Jesus: (Love your username): well maybe they will… *wink***

**AusllyXKickXR5: ALL RIGHT!**

**Guest/Tomboy-WriterNZ: Ahaha I applaud the laziness. :P I hope this lived up to your expectations!**

**Guest: Well if you reread Chapter 13: Phoebe Gives Jack A Heart its there :)**

**Nclhdrs1717: I'm so happy my posts give you such joy! HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY GIRL! I'm so happy for you! Consider this a late gift. Of course you can only love so much of what you want, right? Ugh. Homework. I've got 3 days of school left. :P SUCKERS. I love your life story! LAY IT ON ME! I love you so much Hahaha your reviews make my night seriously**

**BTW JASMINELIEF WHERE ARE YOU? I'VE BEEN MISSING YOUR REVIEWS!**

**Kickfan: As I mentioned before, reread Chapter 13, its been added onto the end of it. :D**

**September14Fall: Oooo SAT's are the devil. Damn them and all their kind! :P I haven't had room for Brody so far (its been hard enough including Ricky and Frank is only talked about poor brute) but I'll try just for you. :) School is shitty, I don't blame you. You're my biggest fan? D'aww…. Tank wu :D**

**Nclhrds1717: Ooooo competition for my biggest fan placement! Or something! Yay!...Lil stop it you sound weird… Well yeah but STILL I must QUESTION myself I AM the DOCTOR…hahaha. Really! My friend did the 5K too! If you're talking about the Color Run :P Go you! I used sexy times for a story break :D Good enough?**

**KEEP REVIEWING! I PROMISE TO ANSWER THEM ALL!**

**Love,**

**Lil**


	15. Jim Loses Dough

**Jacks**

"Strawberries."

"Yup."

I raised a dubious eyebrow at my happily yogurt eating girlfriend, perched delicately at the tip of my knees straddling me in the softest way so that a tent did not arise in the middle of the airy outdoor patio of the Parisian restaurant. Yep. That's right. We decided to visit Paris for no apparent reason and now Kim's eating yogurt.

"Why on earth are you allergic to strawberries?" I repeated in disbelief and Kim laughed around her spoonful, shifting a bit as if she wanted to raise a tent instead of keeping PDoST (Public Displays of Sexy Times) low key.

"I don't know, maybe I'm secretly Pepper Potts at heart." She grinned at me, the wind ruffling the edges of her ponytail, wisps of spun gold hanging 'round her ears. Kim's body was clothed in a simple white heart necklined strapless top and camo capris, dust from our earlier rough housing in the garden outside of our rented house tracing her chin.

"Does that make me your Iron Man?" I asked her cheekily and Kim giggled, leaning forward and kissing me on the nose.

"Well you do have muscles made out of steel," she whispered to me and I smirked, grasping her hips lightly.

"I'm confused. Am I Clark Kent now?" I joked with her and I was rewarded with yet another blinding smile. This past week, away from reporters and doctors and work and just the general fucking world had been the best week of my life. Being with Kim, alone and at peace, was something that was entirely foreign to me.

If you had told me six months ago that I'd be sitting at a café in Paris, totally devoted and in love with a Crawford, ready to lay down my life for her, I would've knocked your head clean off your shoulders and asked what kind of drug you'd been taking.

The idea that a woman would love me for me, and not what I could do for her, how much money I had, or what kind of man I was in bed, is still a miracle to me.

Looking at Kim, her smiling tea brown eyes, thick waterfall of golden princess curls, petite figure, kickass attitude, and loving gaze, I'm pretty sure that I'm the luckiest man in Paris, in Europe, in the world, in the universe. I'd sooner lay down my life than have her amass a paper cut, hell just looking at her made my heart hurt.

I loved Kim not only for the perfection that she embodied, but for the imperfections. The way her hair looked when she washed it, her angelic voice, small chest and wide hips. The fact that her upper lip was just the slightest bit fuller than the bottom one, the way she absolutely loathed her toes.

Kim was, well, Kim. My beautiful, killer lamb of an everything and to be frank I couldn't ask for anything more.

The sound of a violinist playing in the street was interrupted by a terrible rendition of…wait, what the hell is that? Did I just hear 'Snap, Boom, Crack, and Pop'? What is that, a songified version of Rice Krispies? Either way, it broke the spell on our lovely afternoon and made Kim sigh, reaching chucking her yogurt behind her into the trashcan and brushing herself off.

"Come on, get up, Jackass," she insisted with an imperious hand. "The waiter said that the shop next door has amazing blue cheese, and I wanna try."

I winced. "Blue cheese, Kimmy? Seriously?" Kim whacked me on the back of the head, glaring.

"Don't ever call me Kimmy again, Jackson," she hissed at me, folding her arms over her chest and accidentally pushing up her lovely bosom as she did so. "And why not blue cheese?"

I restrained the urge to sweep her in my arms at kiss the living daylights out of her (because seriously, angry Kim is an incredibly sexy Kim. Nothing is more of a turn on then when her eyes start spitting fire and she gets physically and verbally violent. I've let her judo throw me the way I taught her the five times we got really mad at each other and dammit it hurt, but the mind blowing lovemaking we had afterwards pretty much took the pain away) and stood up, the breeze making the goose bumps on my arms stand up.

For a minute I wondered if my own wife beater and khaki shorts were doing the same thing to her that her cami was doing to me, but in an effort to appease the blond beauty I dismissed such thoughts from my head.  
"I can't even smell blue cheese without wanting to puke over the closest thing to me," I explained to her, watching Kim's eyebrow dubiously raise as she speculated as to whether or not I was lying. "Being completely honest here, I promise!" She glared at me and I huffed, folding my own arms. "It's a regurgitation reaction okay? Just ask Jerry and Eddie! There was this one instance in ninth grade when this kid who'd been messing with us switched out my cologne with blue cheese extract," I shuddered and

Kim's eyes began to twinkle again. "Lets just say that the girl I was going to talk to got something other than smooth pick up lines when I opened my mouth."

"Okay, fine, no blue cheese," Kim reneged, lifting a weight off my chest as we headed off from the café in no general direction. "But I want payment. Blue cheese is a pretty hard thing to give up, even for a great hunk of man like you."

I chuckled, wrapping an arm around her waist and dropping a kiss on her head as we languid walked on the somehow romantic cobblestones of Paris. "You think I'm a great hunk of a man? Jeez, now I sound like Hercules."

Kim rolled her eyes, sparking another laugh from me. The strains of an orchestra practicing in a nearby park reached my ears and I decided to head us towards it, tugging her gently to follow my lead. "Well you're certainly a hunk of something," she murmured. "Stupid is probably that substance, though."

I placed a hand to my heart in mock hurt. "Lamb, you wound me."

"No one calls the person they like lamb anymore, doofus," Kim muttered and I abruptly stopped walking, spinning her around to face me, pressing my chest and forehead against hers, making sure she could see my eyes.

"Love, beautiful." I whispered to her, staring at her earnestly. "I love you. Not like you. Don't ever doubt that. I will need you until the earth ends and then some, got it?"

Tears glimmered at the ends of Kim's gorgeous eyes and she closed them in a halfhearted attempt to stop them from falling, a soft sob emanating from her throat. I wiped them away and she leaned into my hold.

"Jack, don't lie to me to make me feel better." She told me softly. "So maybe you care about me and of course I love you to pieces but for all that I know we could be extended friends with benefits." Kim winced. "Real, real, extended friends with benefits. Okay?"

I enclosed Kim's hands and my own and fought the urge to throw something, fast and hard. It was incomprehensible to me that Kim didn't understand how much she meant to me, so I tried to make a point everyday in telling her that I loved her. I didn't want a repeat of that horrible dark period in our lives.

"I. Love. You." I repeated, meaning the words with all my heart. "And nothing's going to change that."

Kim gave me a small smile. "I love you too, Jackass," She grumbled with a smile on her face and I grinned, pulling her to me and pressing a kiss to her lips. "Now how about you show me exactly how much you love me?"

I raised a brow as she chuckled at me, eyes mischievous. "A good friend once told me to lock up the person you love in a basement to never let him go. We don't have a basement, but I did bring some silk scarves with me…"

My eyes darkened at what Kim was implying and I growled softly, digging my thumbs into the grooves of her hips and pulling her impossibly closer while she grinned like the minx that she is. "You're going to be the death of my, Kimberly Anne Crawford." I told the woman I loved honestly and she laughed.

"At least you'll die happy, you handsome jackass." She poked back, and at that moment I knew that no one could ever replace the woman standing in front of me.

Well, that's not true-one might be able to capture a little bit of my heart...But she'd be little and her hair would be coffee brown, curly, with tea gold eyes and lips that are a little plumper on the top than on the bottom…

* * *

**To: Jim Crawford (crawfordassociates )  
From: Ty Tyson (thatstudtyson )  
**

**Dear Mr. Crawford,  
**

**We regret to inform you that the private investigator you hired from our company to follow your daughter, Kimberly Crawford, has been mysteriously detained overseas. His body was found floating in a river in Spain, with the words "Don't Mess With The Lone Wolfs Friends" carved into his chest. Due to the water logging of the body, we were unable to come up with any evidence regarding his killer and to whom 'The Lone Wolf' is. Any information regarding this issue would be greatly appreciated.  
**

**In the meantime, we require a six months advance on the agents funeral. It will be collected, in cash, at your mansion at exactly 6:00 PM Thursday night. Please make sure to pay off your full debt-you were told at purchase that the price would be high if the agent was harmed on the job.  
**

**And sir, not to be threatening, but we know where you live. Frank Hatterson was a very old, if not respected, member of our organization. Our condolences on the loss of your wedding plans.**

**Sincerely,  
**

**Ty Tyson  
CEO of Black Dragon FBI International  
Seaford, California, 87023**

* * *

**Mika**

Waking up curled up on a Spaniards chest was not an experience new to me. My previous line of work had had me laying in all manner of positions, so this was not surprising. What made me scream, though, was the identity of the Spaniard.

Jerry Martinez, curly black hair mussed from sleep, mesmerizing black eyes sleepy, and impressive, is modestly lean, chest exposed, sat up in bed immediately, a knife I never knew he's possessed held in what was sure to me a damaging angle, on guard despite his rude awakening. Judging from his posture, tense as it was, he was poised to strike.

"Jerry," I whispered, clutching the cotton of his black sheet to my unclothed chest, aurburn hair in rioting ringlets down my back. "Put the knife down."

At the sound of my voice the knife reluctantly lowered and I allowed myself to breathe again. The fact that Jerry slept with a knife on his bedstand just served to stab me in the conscious once more about why waking up on his chest had been a problem.

"Mika?" he said groggily, voice impossibly sexy. "Yo, why'd you yell? It's six o'clock in the morning, y'know the class I teach starts at twelve."

"Jerry, we slept together." I said slowly, hoping he would understand. "We can't do this! Not again! Not with my husband still walking and this whole thing about Jack and Kim-"

My lips were covered with a finger and I looked up at him, eyes wide. He had a loving smile on his handsome face and it took everything in me not to cry about how beautiful it looked. "Penny. Babe. I know. And I don't care. So come back to bed, alright? I love you no matter who comes after me. If Jack can face his family, Kim's family, and the world just to be with Kim than I can handle one psycho ex husband and his misguided friends. Okay?"

Staring into his eyes, I knew he was right. Staying away from each other obviously hadn't worked, and our attraction was as strong as it was inevitable. Pedro can suck it.

"I love you, Lone Wolf," I whispered teasingly and Jeremy Fernando Martinez smirked.

"And I love you, shiny piece of metal," He joked, and suddenly, all was right in the world again.

Jerry and Mika.

It was just meant to be.

* * *

(left in Eddie's Mailbox)  


Eddie,  


Do you think you come over to Julie and I's house? We're having problems with the hall we want to have the wedding at. Do you think you can score that Crawford place? Julies pretty insistent.  


-Dr. Milton Krupnick

* * *

_Mitch: bunny u've got 2 tell them sooner or later. U can't just go on like this. It'll ruin your brother again. they deserve to know that ur going back to MD.  
_

_Shiloh: I can't. they've got so many things against them right now, they need all the support they can get-and besides, there in Paris-that's the worst place to be for bad news.  
_

_Mitch: the longer u wait the worse it's gonna get.  
_

_Shiloh: I know, don't make it worse…  
_

_Mitch: How about this-I'll come up and be with u.  
_

_Shiloh: u'd do that?  
_

_Mitch: anything for u. it was about time I met that brother of yours anyway. But we've got to back once his situation is sorted out. You know my Abuela doesn't have much time left, and I can't leave the dojo for more than a month. Brian, alastair and the rest need me for guidance.  
_

_Shiloh: I know. Damn I love you so much right now.  
_

_Mitch: me as well ;) see u in a few days, bunny girl  
_

_Shiloh: come up soon. I'm not sure how much I longer I can be without you…and besides. I have to tell you something.  
_

_Mitch: oh? Is it about my amazing wonderfulness?  
_

_Shiloh: no. but its got ten toes and ten fingers.  
_

_Mitch: holy shit…  
_

_Shiloh: yeah, I was waiting for a good time to tell you. Like this, on a Skype cam where I can't hear you and only see you? pretty good time. At least I can see your face. And you look like your smiling….  
_

_Mitch: Can I see it?  
_

_Shiloh: See what?  
_

_Mitch: God you're hot when you're confused….the bump. I want to see my kid. Shit, I'm going to be a father. Shit, shit, shit.  
_

_Shiloh: did you see it?  
_

_Mitch: yeah. I bet she'll look just like you.  
_

_Shiloh: it's a boy, I checked today. :P  
_

_Mitch: hot damn…I love you, Shiloh Elizabeth Andrez.  
_

_Shiloh: and I love you, Mitchell Damon Andrez.  
_

_Mitch: maybe while I'm up there we should tell that brother of you're the fact that you're married. And pregnant. ^_^ you can see me, right? I want to come up there right now and hold my wife and kid in my arms. Holy shit. I'm going to be a father. Wait til I tell mom…and now Abuela gets one more grandkid before she passes…  
_

_Shiloh: that'll be good…come up soon, you ridiculous husband of mine. ;P  
_

_Mitch: I will. Trust me, I'm ordering tickets now. You see me packing?  
_

_Shiloh: I see you. ;)  
_

_Mitch: Love you. *sends kisses*  
_

_Shiloh: *catches them* love you too ;)_

* * *

**So some Jack and Kim fluff, Jack and Mika fluff, hot damn I got evil Ty in the story, and not only is Shiloh PREGNANT but she's also fucking married. I think I just one with biggest WTF moment in fanfiction. :P I don't even know where the hell that Jilton thing came from. Augh.  
**

**Reviews:**

**Inkling13-It's the truth :P and so is that statement! Our poor Brewer baby…  
**

**Nclhrds1717- Aw, I'm sorry fanfiction wasn't working for you. :( WOOHOO! GO MY SOCCER REVIEWER! Well I was going to but Jim Crawford is a business man at heart. If he didn't have a company he was devoted to he probably would've gone ape shit, but y'know businessman. WELL I GAVE YOU FLUFF YA HAPPY?  
**

**If it was something like this sentence-  
**

**Charlotte was pretty sure that Aidan had a thing for her; his eyes followed her like a man who'd just caught sight of water.**

**Two related thing with different things they're trying to get across. Charlotte and Aidan are in the story line persay, but Charlotte is pretty sure of something and Aidan is looking at her. Related, but different. See? :)  
**

**Its so funny cuz I was Tootles in Peter Pan. ;P Love you, girlie!  
**

**Ilovesports1999- Thank you *blushes*  
**

**KarateGirl77- Here it is!  
**

**In my sweet dream-Okay, Jesus! *gives you chapter*  
**

**Marsianfellow-Why thank you. Jerry is my secret love…I'm having an affair with Jerry behind Jacks back shhhh… :D Well a teeny sexy bit. It didn't seem to fit in this part, y'know?  
**

**-So happy you do! Hope you keep coming back!  
**

**xxxShiningStar23xxx-Craziness is amazing and NO BE DRAMATIC. The story itself is dramatic, right? :P  
**

**KEEP REVIEWING!  
**

**LOVE YOU!  
**

**Lil**


	16. Ricky Reincarnates

**Kim's POV**

"Are you _absolutely _sure about this?"

As it often did, Jack's concerned words made a rose of warmth bloom in my chest, prompting me to lean into his embrace even more, a smile gracing my face as I pressed foreheads with him, me on tiptoes as he bent down to my height.

It was past time for Dad to get word to us about Jack and I. We'd given him a month a half-longer than we promised just because I wanted to give him a chance-and that month and half had been perhaps one of the most life changing one of my life. Things that happened: Shiloh was married _AND _pregnant (Jack almost had a conniption), Milton and Julie tied the knot, Sunny gained a male admirer in the black Lab Monroe Jack had adopted, my engagement was mysteriously called off because of the swift and sudden disappearance of Frank, and we-that is Jack and I-decided to go public.

That's right, we were gonna give both our respective parents the birdie and go out into a throng of paparazzi. Bobby had engineered a rumor about what had really happened in Jack Brewer's disappearance and now camera man were crawling around in the foyer of the hotel Jack and I were bunking in, fresh back from out Paris rendezvous. On our way down Jack had halted the elevator on the floor above the foyer and we were cuddled in each other arms, mentally and emotionally pairing for the shit storm that our 'reveal' would inevitably cause.

"Mm," I responded to Jack, nestling my head into the hollow of his shoulder, strong arms cradling me gently, tenderly to his beating chest. As I listened to the strong thump of my loves heart I knew that there was nowhere else I'd rather be. Being with Jack, Brewer as he was, was where I had always been meant to make my home, placing my hope and trust and love to him-_my only love sprung from my only hate _he was my everything. And if exposing ourselves to the world as we knew it meant that we could make a solid life together than that was what we were going to do. "I love you, Jackass," I murmured into his blazer. "And yes, I'm sure about this."

Jack gently nudged my head away from his chest, loosening his arms so he could stare earnestly into my eyes. "Positive? Beautiful I'll be fine if-"

"_HEY." _I forced his attention on me and gave him a stern look. "I said I'm fine, okay?" I insisted, pressing a kiss to his lips. "Now. Tell me how I look before I go out."

A mischievous grin formed on Jacks handsome face and I released him to twirl. My dress was a burgundy-purple color, still red but just barely, coming to about an inch above my knees. Layered alternatively with white it's white buttons trailing down the front gave it a vintage feel and my hair was pulled into a high ponytail, decorated with a thin, _Matilda_-esque red ribbon.

"You were wearing red when I first met you, y'know," Jack said quietly, holding out an arm for me, black blazer and white v-neck just enhancing his attractiveness. I took the proffered limb and stood on tiptoe on my red peep-toe platforms to kiss his cheek.

"I know, thats why I wore red you dubass," I shared cheekily and he laughed.

Five minutes later the elevator was on the foyer and Jack's eyes and mine connected.

_No matter what? _his coffee depths asked.

_'Til the end. _my tea eyes answered and through mutual agreement he pulled me to him, pressing our lips together in a desperate, comfort searching kiss.

* * *

**Jack's POV**

As soon as the doors opened Jack knew that the whole thing was a huge mistake, but there was no way to go but out.

Clutching Kim's hand in his he ran for the door, dodging flashes and trying desperately to see the exit. Paparazzi flocked the couples every move, making it near impossible for them to find the exit, taking pictures and running their mouths faster than a twelve year old with coffee.

Maybe, if they had looked up at the balcony, they would've seen the person watching them.

Maybe, if they'd seen that person, they would've realized that the paparazzi weren't the only ones waiting to pounce.

And then maybe, the disaster would've been averted but alas, fate didn't turn out that way.

**FLASH**

"Jack are you and Ms. Crawford together now?"

**FLASH**

_Just need to get out, head for the door, hold Kim's hand DON'T LET GO_

**FLASH**

"How long has this been going on? How do her parents feel about this?"

**FLASH**

_Sunlight getting brighter push past passerbys get Kim out get her OUT_

**FLASH**

"How do YOUR parents feel about this?"

**FLASH**

_Swiveling doors, made it, get Kim through get Kim-_

With a startled shriek Kim's hand was torn from Jack's, a different iron hard arm tugging her roughly from the paparazzi and the man she loved with a passion. Shouting, Jack spread his arms wide and hard, scattering the determined paparazzi with a broad sweep, scrambling after and screaming, now crying blonde being dragged through the door to a waiting hummer.

"KIMM!" Jack shrieked, fighting to get to his beautiful girlfriend, scattering pedestrians and paparazzi alike as Kim got shoved into a car that instantly squealed into the street, making cars skid in its desperate search for distance between it and the raging brunette at the hotel. Milton and Jerry materialized from the street, the redhead misdirecting the paparazzi with a pointed finger and an "OMG IS THAT RIHANNA?" while the Spaniard locked his arms around the screaming brunette, heels actually beginning to screech on the pavement at the force Jack was exerting, the love in his best friends chest prompting him to attempt to kill all those in his way.

A half hour later Jack was still fighting to get from Jerry and Milton's combined grip, still calling Kim's name, tears streaming from his eyes. Both men were only able to shove the out of his mind brunette into the back seat of the car, leaning against the door as the vehicle rocked with the force of Jack trying to escape.

"Will people ever STOP trying to fuck over Kim and Jack?" Jerry growled, pressing back into the car as it shook particularly violently. "Jack might just break at this point and damn. Damn, damn, _damn." _

The ginger beside him scrubbed a hand over his face, agreeing. "Jack's mind and heart are only so strong," the doctor explained. "This much strain is in no way healthy. His mind _and _his body are close to shattering."

"Did you get a look at any of the motherfuckers in the van?" Jerry growled, puling his phone out and sending a mass _**CODE RED**_text to their makeshift family.

"Yeah." Milton was silent for a minute then, long enough for Jerry to look at him with an angered air of quizzicality.

"What, man? Who was it."

"Ricky." Milton said finally. "Ricky Weaver, his thugs, and Jim Crawford." he turned mournful eyes to his friend. "If we don't get Kim back well...Jack's going to go mad, and our job just got a whole lot harder."

* * *

**So I kidnapped Kim! And almost broke our baby :(**

**I'm an evil biatch and I'm sorry, but we are nearing the end of Jackeo & Kiminet as much as I hate to say it. Kim getting kidnapped is the equivalent of her fake death and now Jack has to go save her. If, you know, he's still of sound mind and body, that is :P So in the next few chapters it should be ending but DO NOT DESPAIR. Shiloh still has to have her kid and Jack and Kim need a happy ending, especially after all this NEW shift, yay me. And if you're looking for something new I'm still working on ****_Ain't No Sunshine _****and brand new ****_Drunk On You, High On Summertime. _****If you like it more when Jack and Kim are older, than head on over to ****_Drunk On You _****but if you prefer younger, seventeen/sixteen Jack and Kim then ****_Ain't No Sunshine_****'s your story :) **

**Reviews ( I love these sooo muucchh!):**

**marsianfellow- (btdubs sorry about the review I owe you I'm getting on that I promise!) Yes, of course :D Not even Jim and Lacey Crawford want a complete IDIOT like Frank as a son-in-law. Can you imagine the KIDS? *shudders* Poor Kim. I'm happy it did :3 this isn't a really giggly chapter I'm sorry :( but hopefully the next one will be better, okay?**

**KarateGirl77- Thank you! And yeah don't we all wish we could be there too? *sighs***

**inkling13- You didn't? GOOD I'm doing my job! Let me tell you, your damns gave me the biggest grin ever I swear. Adorable the way I slapped you with WTF'S?! X) **

**All For Jesus- CASPIAN AND SUSAN. Sorry. Happy you do! :)**

**Daydreamin In Wonderland- And then I internet hug you! *dun dun duunnn* ;P**

**kaecdc- Yep thank you :) But there was the short wedding thing about the Crawford Place though, right?**

**jackandkimforever- OKAY HERE YOU GO! And yeah little girlies :3 I can't choose between Isabella, Livian, Brooklyn, Ava, and Emma. What do you think?**

**WinnieThePooh- 'all stuffed with fluff, it's Winnie the Pooh' :D childhood memorieess Fluffiness is smileyness :3**

**Guest #1- I'm sorry you didn't, because personally I love Shakespeare! He has an amazing way with words. :( Thank you for comment anyway?**

**Guest #2- The way you rallied behind me brought tears to my eyes *wipes one away* Thank you for that :3 **

**So yeah.**

**Go check out the other stories? For me?**

**Love,**

**Lil**


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